Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Settle in 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 conventional biological terror, but inside Together exists a deep examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
An Introductory Film Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The story commences when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim 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 induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
