Consider this a test for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like standard body horror, but within Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when the couple relocate from the big city to the country for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the conventions cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and the two fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits 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 removed from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
