Combine a perfectly dark comedic horror with a classic isolated weekend getaway, add some romance and you get “Companion.”
The movie is complemented by an absolutely stacked cast, including Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén and more. It has a clever construction and killer timing.
The only warning I have to those wanting to see it: do not watch the trailer. It completely spoils the plot twist, so I recommend going in blind.
I really enjoyed “Companion,” and it was refreshing to have equal parts suspense, horror and gore balanced with witty banter. It made the jump scares all the more unexpected.
The story follows Iris (Thatcher) as she explores what it means to meet that perfect person — someone who just completes you and fixes a part of you that you didn’t even know was broken.
Her narration dictates the two happiest moments in her life. One was the day she met Josh (Quaid) and the second, the day she killed him.
Thatcher’s performance solidified her place in horror. Her uncanny movements leave viewers slightly uneasy but completely immersed.
Right off the bat, the antagonist is established, and we begin to suspect the seemingly perfect boyfriend. But we then see their perfectly curated meet-cute at a grocery store, which leaves them both blushing.
What could go wrong?
They take a trip to a lakeside cabin for the weekend with two other couples. In the drive leading up to the isolated house, Iris reveals she is worried about embarrassing Josh in front of his friends, especially Kat (Suri), whose wealthy Russian boyfriend, Sergey (Rupert Friend), owns the place.
As they settle in, Kat doesn’t try to hide her dislike for Iris. On the outskirts of the group, Iris tries to connect with his friends, opening up about the fact that her life revolves around Josh: he is the perfect person for her.
Still, Iris notices Kat’s continued hostility and flat-out asks why she doesn’t like her.
“You make me feel replaceable,” Kat said.
At first, this quote confused me, but it is pivotal to the plot because shortly after, we learn that Iris is not normal. She is not a human; she’s a robot.
Or, as Josh’s friends so brashly put it, a “fuckbot.”
She is the product of a company called Empathix, which designs robot companions to be the perfect partners, customizable down to vocal pitch, eye color and even intelligence level. (I bet you can guess how intelligent Josh made her).
Iris exists solely for him. She serves whatever needs he has. This infatuation, the hopeless focus she has on Josh, isn’t codependence — it’s intricate programming.
When she discovers she is a robot, she protests, claiming she has memories from before she even met Josh. But as he explains, “Everything you do your whole life is just an imitation of life.”
As the movie progresses, we slowly see Josh’s true nature.
He initially appears sensitive and caring but harbors deep resentment. His patience runs thin. Josh blames the world for his problems, complaining that he can’t even afford Iris — she’s a rental.
The movie highlights how much insecurity can take control of your actions.
“Companion” marks Drew Hancock’s film debut after 20 years on TV. He nails the fear of AI humanization and how close it’s getting to replicating the human condition. Hancock brilliantly blends genres at the right moments, inverting and mocking rom-com tropes.
The whole movie shifted for me when one of the couples was also revealed to have a companion. Patrick (Gage) is Eli’s (Guillén) customized partner. This revelation normalizes the concept of robotic partners within the film world and that it’s not some unprecedented technological invention.
As the plot thickens, Iris figures out that Josh and his friends want nothing more but to use her as a pawn in their game. To use her to kill Sergey, blame the crime on her and run away with $12 million.
I have to admit that this is the only time I have rooted for the robot against the humans. Patrick, along with Iris, begins to suffer as their systems are tampered with.
Iris runs away, stealing Josh’s phone, which controls everything about her. She works to separate herself from Josh, even trying to break up with him, but not before he traps her and pushes his manipulative tactics to demonstrate how little control she has over herself.
In one disturbing scene, he commands her to raise her hand over a candle flame, not to remove it until he says so.
The last scene is one of my favorites, where Iris escapes. She passes an arguing couple on the highway — a man screaming at his girlfriend, who looks out the window and locks eyes with Iris, revealing the same face.
Iris waves with her robot hand, the flesh burnt off and winks as she drives off.
“Companion” has several dark underlying themes, including abusive relationships, gender dynamics and insecure men with an overall feeling of ownership over the female body.
This movie pokes fun but brings awareness to the feeble, weak nature of those who believe they deserve more.
