Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your significant other and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard body horror, but within Together lies a profound examination about how we choose to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when the couple transition from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and delivers them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the allegory never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
