Consider this a dare for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like standard body horror, but within Together resides a intense examination about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story commences when the couple move from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship 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 inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
