Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard physical horror, but beneath Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The story starts when the couple transition from the big city to the rural area for her career. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing bits of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters face the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
