Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like conventional body horror, but within Together resides a profound contemplation about our choices in loving each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a special spark to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The complete narrative is a methodically building horror experience, blending bits of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He fears the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a great barometer 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 Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
