Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like standard physical horror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when the couple move from the metropolis to the rural area for Millie’s job. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that come with any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
