Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard physical horror, but inside Together lies a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie transition from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity begins influencing the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal 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 emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
