Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard body horror, but inside Together lies a profound meditation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story starts when the couple transition from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending bits of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
