We present a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like typical biological terror, but beneath Together resides a deep examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the country for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that arise in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
