Here's a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard biological terror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that arise in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform at present.
