We present a challenge for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a profound meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when the couple relocate from the big city to the country for her career. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple face the sort of issues that come with long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and say, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
