Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like standard biological terror, but beneath Together resides a deep meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity begins influencing the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, weaving in moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu at present.
