We present a test for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like standard body horror, but within Together exists a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, the actors bring a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the two tumble into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He fears the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that arise in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
