We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical body horror, but within Together lies a profound contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot commences when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the country for her career. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, blending bits of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that come with any relationship over a long period. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and fully committing to another person, the metaphor does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu at present.
