Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Settle in with your partner and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like standard body horror, but inside Together resides a deep examination about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Millie and Tim move from the metropolis to the country for her career. A commonly used story element, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that come with most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory does not come across as overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
