Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional body horror, but inside Together resides a deep examination about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the country for her career. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn fright fest, blending moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director weaves these elements together seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He fears the idea of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the sort of issues that arise in any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
