Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like standard body horror, but beneath Together exists a intense examination about our choices in loving our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Millie and Tim move from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the type of challenges that come with any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to another person, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, 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 embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
