Consider this a challenge for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard body horror, but beneath Together resides a intense meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He dreads the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
