Consider this a test for long-term couples who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like standard body horror, but inside Together exists a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes conclude. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity begins influencing the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing elements of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
