Consider this a test for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut via Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but inside Together lies a profound examination about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie transition from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence 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 inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the type of challenges that come with most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
