Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere on Hulu. On the surface, it could look like conventional biological terror, but inside Together exists a deep meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that come with most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
