Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but within Together exists a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut 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 a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot commences when the couple transition from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar story element, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is waning due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He dreads the concept of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on today.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
