Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional body horror, but within Together lies a profound examination about our choices in loving each other.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The story starts when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing bits of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory never feels hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
