Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like conventional physical horror, but inside Together lies a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters face the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. At their core, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could function as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu as of this moment.
