Consider this a dare for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like standard physical horror, but beneath Together exists a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have been together for ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that arise in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
