Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like standard biological terror, but beneath Together lies a intense contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have been together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when the couple relocate from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, weaving in moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions over a long period. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
