Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like typical biological terror, but within Together lies a deep meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie move from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his social circle. He dreads the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
