We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like standard physical horror, but within Together exists a deep examination about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together neatly 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 masterfully render numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his support system. He dreads the idea of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
