We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional physical horror, but inside Together resides a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a special spark to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when the couple relocate from the big city to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of totally forfeiting his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu at present.
