Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard body horror, but beneath Together lies a profound examination about our choices in loving each other.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
