We present a dare for long-term couples who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like typical physical horror, but within Together lies a profound examination about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple transition from the big city to the country for her career. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, weaving in moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
