Consider this a challenge for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like typical body horror, but inside Together lies a intense contemplation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative begins when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The complete narrative is a methodically building fright fest, blending moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
