We present a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like standard biological terror, but within Together exists a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that arise in any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and say, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
