We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical physical horror, but beneath Together lies a deep examination about our choices in loving one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
