Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional biological terror, but inside Together lies a profound meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used story element, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
The couple face the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
