Here's a dare for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but within Together exists a deep contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The story begins when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
The couple face the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
