Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like conventional physical horror, but inside Together resides a deep examination about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The narrative starts when the couple relocate from the big city to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is waning due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his support system. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that come with long-term unions after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these fears of codependency and fully committing to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
