We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like typical body horror, but inside Together exists a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The plot commences when the couple move from the metropolis to the country for her career. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and far away from his support system. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters face the type of challenges that come with any relationship a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
