We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical body horror, but within Together resides a profound contemplation about our choices in loving our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into 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 remained a couple for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, blending elements of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that arise in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to another person, the allegory does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
