Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard biological terror, but within Together resides a deep examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn fright fest, blending elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
