Here's a dare for long-term couples who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your partner and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical physical horror, but within Together resides a deep examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their roles, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story begins when the couple move from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the cliches conclude. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He dreads the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the allegory avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
