Consider this a test for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a profound contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot commences when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that come with long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they still love each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
