Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together resides a deep contemplation about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A familiar narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity begins influencing the duo. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a methodically building fright fest, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they still love each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
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. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu as of this moment.
