We present a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like standard biological terror, but within Together resides a profound examination about our choices in loving one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when the couple move from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, of course, but that’s mostly 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 Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn fright fest, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his support system. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the type of challenges that arise in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function 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 Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
