We present a dare for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical body horror, but within Together resides a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple transition from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. 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 harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu now.
