Here's a challenge for long-term couples who enjoy the horror genre: Get comfortable with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like standard physical horror, but beneath Together lies a intense contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim tumble into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
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 sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they still love each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
