Consider this a test for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like standard physical horror, but inside Together exists a profound examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot begins when the couple relocate from the big city to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, 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, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.