Consider this a test for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your partner and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but inside Together exists a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the country for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the sort of issues that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu at present.
