Consider this a dare for long-term couples who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and watch Together. The 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 lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but never too gross) body horror, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
