Consider this a dare for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional body horror, but within Together resides a deep examination about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the two tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He fears the idea of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the kind of problems that arise in any relationship after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform at present.
