Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it could look like typical biological terror, but inside Together exists a profound contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when the couple transition from the urban environment to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that arise in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, 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 interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
