Here's a dare for long-term couples who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your partner and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like typical physical horror, but within Together resides a deep examination about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used story element, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
