Consider this a test for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but inside Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The complete narrative is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He fears the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
