Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like typical physical horror, but within Together exists a intense meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that single viewers have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
