Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like conventional body horror, but inside Together lies a profound examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of codependency and fully committing to another person, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
