We present a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like typical physical horror, but inside Together lies a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the rural area for her career. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together evolves 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 country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
