Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like typical body horror, but beneath Together resides a profound contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the country for her career. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions cease. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He dreads the notion of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can experience today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform at present.
