Consider this a test for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than 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 relocated rural and distant from his social circle. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple face the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the symbolism never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
