Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they still love each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
