Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like typical body horror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes during something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts seamlessly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that single viewers have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
