Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but within Together resides a deep contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie move from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A familiar story element, of course, but that’s primarily where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple face the kind of problems that arise in any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu at present.
