Here's a dare for long-term couples who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like typical body horror, but inside Together lies a intense examination about our choices in loving each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his support system. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters face the kind of problems that arise in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
