Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard physical horror, but within Together resides a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped 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 concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. At their core, they still love one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could function as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
