Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a profound examination about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the tropes conclude. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He fears the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.
