We present a test for long-term couples who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard physical horror, but beneath Together resides a deep examination about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that come with any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
