Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your partner and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard body horror, but beneath Together resides a profound contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The story starts when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity begins influencing the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, blending elements of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He fears the notion of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
