Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical body horror, but inside Together lies a intense examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when the couple move from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
