We present a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard body horror, but within Together exists a profound examination about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform now.
