Consider this a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like typical physical horror, but within Together resides a intense examination about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a special spark to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and fully committing to another person, the allegory never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
