Here's a test for long-term couples who enjoy the horror genre: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like typical physical horror, but beneath Together resides a deep examination about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film 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. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative starts when the couple transition from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes during something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that arise in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
