Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your significant other and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical biological terror, but beneath Together resides a profound contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim move from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that come with most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
