We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like conventional physical horror, but within Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple confront the kind of problems that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they still love each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
