Consider this a dare for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like standard biological terror, but inside Together resides a intense examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of codependency and fully committing to another person, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. 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 a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire 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 glance toward your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
