We present a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your significant other and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like typical biological terror, but beneath Together exists a deep contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership 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 underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the allegory avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
