We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it could look like conventional body horror, but inside Together exists a intense meditation about our choices in loving one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker 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 been together for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the country for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn fright fest, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in one of the characters 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 experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
