We present a dare for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like typical body horror, but beneath Together resides a profound meditation about our choices in loving one another.
An Introductory Film Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when the couple move from the urban environment to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and the two fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
