We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Get comfortable with your partner and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like standard body horror, but beneath Together exists a deep meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot starts when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He fears the idea of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu at present.
