Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like standard biological terror, but within Together lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when the couple move from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, 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 inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the kind of problems that come with long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
