Consider this a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple move from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He dreads the idea of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
