We present a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard body horror, but inside Together lies a deep examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story starts when the couple move from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple face the type of challenges that arise in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
