Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Get comfortable with your significant other and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like typical biological terror, but within Together resides a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity begins influencing the duo. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters face the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that single viewers have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
