Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like standard physical horror, but beneath Together exists a profound meditation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when the couple transition from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that come with long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu at present.
