This New Horror Film Is Now Streaming, and It Might Make or Break Your Relationship.
Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional body horror, but within Together resides a profound meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when the couple transition from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.