We present a dare for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like typical biological terror, but inside Together resides a deep meditation about our choices in loving one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when the couple transition from the big city to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that come with most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.