Consider this a dare for long-term couples who enjoy horror films: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like standard physical horror, but beneath Together lies a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
