We present a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard physical horror, but inside Together resides a deep meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together represents the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The narrative starts when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
