Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like standard biological terror, but beneath Together lies a deep contemplation about our choices in loving our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features 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. Married in reality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the sort of issues that come with long-term unions after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
