Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like standard body horror, but within Together lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when the couple transition from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the two discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt 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 metaphor never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
