Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its streaming debut via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a profound examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the rural area for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple face the type of challenges that come with any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they still love each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
