Here's a test 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. On the surface, it could look like conventional biological terror, but beneath Together resides a profound contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting 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 commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters face the sort of issues that arise in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
