We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Sit down with your partner and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like conventional biological terror, but inside Together lies a intense contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
The couple face the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, some couples having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
