Here's a challenge for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical body horror, but within Together lies a intense examination about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their characters, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical story element, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn fright fest, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple face the sort of issues that come with long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
