Here's a dare for long-term couples who are fans of the horror genre: Sit down with your partner and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like standard physical horror, but within Together resides a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the country for her career. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is exclusively 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 lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform now.
