We present a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like standard body horror, but beneath Together exists a deep meditation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He fears the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that come with long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
