We present a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like standard body horror, but inside Together resides a intense meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the actors contribute a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He fears the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that arise in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they still love 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 relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu at present.
