Consider this a test for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical biological terror, but beneath Together exists a intense contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars bring a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The story commences when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and delivers them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the type of challenges that come with long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
