We present a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your significant other and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like standard body horror, but inside Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim move from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
