Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its streaming debut via Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but within Together lies a intense contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple face the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
