Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its online premiere on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but inside Together exists a intense contemplation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the country for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond 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 not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple face the sort of issues that come with long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the allegory avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
