We present a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it could look like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a deep contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars 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 stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters face the type of challenges that come with long-term unions a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your significant other and say, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
