Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Sit down with your partner and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional body horror, but inside Together resides a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the sort of issues that come with most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
