We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical physical horror, but within Together exists a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
