Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Sit down with your loved one and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like standard physical horror, but inside Together exists a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors contribute a special spark to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A familiar narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that arise in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
