We present a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical biological terror, but inside Together lies a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when the couple move from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that arise in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
