Here's a test for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional biological terror, but within Together lies a deep examination 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 showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the sort of issues that come with long-term unions after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
