We present a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a special spark to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the country for her career. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn fright fest, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that come with most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism avoids being clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
