Here's a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like typical biological terror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). The director orchestrates these parts expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He dreads the idea of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that come with long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and fully committing to another person, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
