Written by: Drew Hancock
Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, Rupert Friend
Rating: [3.5/5]
Much has been made about the loneliness epidemic of young men that stretches beyond typical connection with others and veers into romantic relationships. Entire sociological studies have and will continue to dive into how young men have found themselves in this position. The way Companion speaks on it in ways men will sidestep their inability to meaningfully connect with others does not come with much depth but sure lays out an intriguing viewing experience. Laying out surprise after surprise, this feature delivers something thoroughly entertaining.
After a romantic meet-cute, Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) head to a secluded and very nice lake house to spend time with the latter’s friends. Nervous to make a good impression, she feels the tension in the room around her presence and after a horrific incident the truth about Iris becomes prevalent for everyone.
While the marketing of Companion unfortunately gives away the reveal of this film, it makes this revelation fair game to speak on during this review. Fair warning to anyone reading this prior to watching the film. We learn that Iris is not necessarily a woman, but rather a companion robot owned by Josh. Quite the reveal that makes the icy reactions to her from Josh’s friends make much more sense. A specific exchange between Iris and Kat (Megan Suri) where the latter expresses how the former makes them feel replaceable has a completely different context following the reveal. The film then completely shifts in tone after some much darker elements come to the forefront involving everyone at this home.
At this point, the film clearly becomes this commentary on men like Josh and how they truly view women. We receive this juxtaposition from the very beginning where they have their meet-cute and how he appears as this upstanding guy, but the more this narrative plays out we see the true darkness under the surface continuing to boil. A reality where Iris gets seen as nothing more than a literal toy and nothing but a disposable item to be used and thrown away. Now as audience members, we move away from having intrigue in this situation and watch how this robot seemingly tries her best at surviving this entire ordeal.
One of the more fascinating elements this feature had to offer is the whole concept of Iris and how we learn of the specificities of how she operates. This includes not having the capability to harm a human being and how they have this undying devotion to their owner in a way that infantilizes her. It therefore makes sense why someone like Kat would feel threatened by her existence, as Iris provides everything a man could want from a woman and removes any elements where said man would have to make any compromises. Certainly the dream for a subset of men and all made clearer when we learn about the dynamics of a male version of this robot that appears later in this film.
Casting this feature very much played into the enjoyment as we have Jack Quaid portraying Josh. Quaid has this charm to him that allows us to believe him as this compassionate and likeable guy on the surface that further allows the reality of his true character to be all the more interesting. However, Sophie Thatcher ultimately takes the cake with her performance as this robot. For the most part, she comes off as human in the emotions she feels and how frightening this situation becomes for her, given she has minimal control over her actions and her modifications. She becomes this final girl for this story trying to escape the surrounding evils, especially since she has done nothing wrong but exist. Thatcher continues to make a name for herself in the horror genre and I can’t wait to continue to see what she takes on next.
A fun premise and a seemingly dystopian idea that feels closer and closer to becoming a reality, Companion takes a concept seen in other science-fiction films and flips it on its head for the horror genre. We get some fun revelations around character motivations and some decent bit of commentary on relationship dynamics, in addition to distilling how men seek the pleasures women can provide but extract out elements they find less valuable.
Films with Josh 
