We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a deep contemplation about our choices in loving each other.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative starts when the couple transition from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, blending elements of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform now.
