We present a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional biological terror, but beneath Together resides a deep meditation about our choices in loving one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his support system. He dreads the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. At their core, they still love each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu as of this moment.
