Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like typical physical horror, but inside Together resides a intense contemplation about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when the couple relocate from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the conventions cease. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that come with most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and say, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
