Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it could look like typical physical horror, but beneath Together exists a intense meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He fears the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that come with most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure 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 either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
