Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like typical physical horror, but within Together exists a profound meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The story begins when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing bits of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters face the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions over a long period. At their core, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can experience today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
