We present a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. This 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 beneath Together exists a intense contemplation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have been together for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the country for her career. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity begins influencing the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, blending elements of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
