Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like standard body horror, but within Together resides a deep examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He dreads the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple confront the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
