Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your partner and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional biological terror, but inside Together exists a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple face the sort of issues that come with long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
