Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like conventional body horror, but within Together exists a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force starts to affect the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He fears the notion of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the kind of problems that come with most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform at present.
