Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like standard physical horror, but within Together resides a profound contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Investigating 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, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The complete narrative is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that arise in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie 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 test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu at present.
