Here's a test for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like typical body horror, but within Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a special spark to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, 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 act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
