Consider this a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like typical biological terror, but beneath Together lies a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity begins influencing the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a slow burn fright fest, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple confront the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform now.
