Here's a challenge for long-term couples who are fans of the horror genre: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict 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 revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
