Consider this a dare for long-term couples who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like conventional biological terror, but within Together exists a deep examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases 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. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The plot begins when the couple transition from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his support system. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple face the type of challenges that come with most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
