We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a intense examination about our choices in loving our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn fright fest, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the allegory avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
