Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a intense contemplation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Tim and Millie move from the urban environment to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple face the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
