Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like conventional biological terror, but inside Together exists a profound examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the country for her career. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict 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 finale plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
