We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like typical biological terror, but beneath Together exists a deep contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He dreads the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
