Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your partner and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional body horror, but inside Together exists a profound contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple transition from the metropolis to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes during something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to another person, the symbolism does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
