Consider this a dare for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical body horror, but within Together resides a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when the couple move from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that arise in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of codependency and fully committing to another person, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.
