Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Sit down with your partner and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like standard body horror, but inside Together exists a intense meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot commences when the couple transition from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that come with most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu at present.
