Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like standard body horror, but inside Together resides a profound contemplation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that come with any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu as of this moment.
