We present a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on Hulu. On the surface, it could look like typical biological terror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and the two discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The complete narrative is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that come with any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these fears of codependency and fully committing to another person, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu now.
