Here's a dare for long-term couples who enjoy horror films: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like standard biological terror, but within Together exists a deep meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative starts when the couple relocate from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes either of his characters the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships 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 make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu at present.
