Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your partner and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like typical body horror, but inside Together lies a profound meditation about our choices in loving one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, some couples having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
