We present a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like typical biological terror, but beneath Together resides a profound meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim tumble into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration 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 cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He fears the notion of completely losing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple face the kind of problems that are inherent in long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
