Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like standard physical horror, but inside Together resides a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative commences when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force starts to affect the duo. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn fright fest, blending moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that single viewers have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
