Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like conventional body horror, but beneath Together exists a deep examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot commences when the couple move from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director 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 exclusively the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple confront the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
