We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its online premiere on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like standard physical horror, but beneath Together resides a profound examination about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together evolves 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 rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The complete narrative is a methodically building fright fest, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He dreads the concept of completely losing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the type of challenges that arise in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to another person, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
