Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like standard biological terror, but beneath Together exists a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases 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 actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when the couple transition from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, blending elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He fears the concept of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that arise in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
