Here's a test for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like typical biological terror, but within Together resides a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the countryside for her career. A familiar narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply turn to your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
