We present a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your partner and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its online premiere via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like typical body horror, but within Together resides a profound examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the country for her career. A commonly used story element, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He fears the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the kind of problems that come with most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
