We present a dare for long-term couples who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like typical body horror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity begins influencing the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
