Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your partner and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like standard physical horror, but beneath Together resides a deep examination about our choices in loving each other.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that come with any relationship a decade in. At their core, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
