Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like typical physical horror, but within Together lies a profound meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie transition from the metropolis to the countryside for her career. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
