Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional biological terror, but within Together exists a intense meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the country for her career. A commonly used story element, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self 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.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He fears the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together avoids making one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that arise in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.