Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together resides a deep meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The story commences when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
