We present 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 Hulu. On the surface, it could look like standard biological terror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the country for her career. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is waning due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.
