Consider this a dare for long-term couples who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your partner and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical physical horror, but inside Together exists a profound examination about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a special spark to their roles, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The story begins when the couple transition from the big city to the country for her career. A commonly used story element, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. 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 paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “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 Hulu's platform as of this moment.
