We present a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of scary movies: Get comfortable with your partner and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like conventional body horror, but within Together resides a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars bring a special spark to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the rural area for her career. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that come with most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
