Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like standard body horror, but beneath Together exists a deep examination about our choices in loving one another.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The story commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A familiar narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the sort of issues that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
