We present a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it might appear like typical biological terror, but inside Together resides a deep meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the countryside for her career. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, weaving in moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can embark on today.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
