We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Get comfortable with your significant other and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional body horror, but inside Together exists a deep contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The story starts when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and far away from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
