We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like typical biological terror, but inside Together lies a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The complete narrative is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that come with long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending sow anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform at present.
