Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like standard body horror, but beneath Together resides a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing bits of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He fears the concept of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the allegory never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire 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 significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform now.
