Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like standard biological terror, but inside Together exists a intense examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The narrative commences when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He dreads the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is amplified by the reality he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the sort of issues that come with long-term unions over a long period. At their core, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale sow anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
