Consider this a dare for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like standard biological terror, but within Together exists a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story begins when the couple move from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the sort of issues that arise in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
