We present a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like typical body horror, but within Together resides a deep examination about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when the couple transition from the metropolis to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the cliches conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and delivers them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple face the sort of issues that are inherent in long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the allegory never feels hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act 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 see yourself in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience today.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
