Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, which invites a familiar problem that has plagued couples for years. What should they do for such an occasion? Well, director Drew Hancock has an answer to that in the form of his debut feature film, “Companion.” It stars Sophie Thatcher as Iris as she takes a trip to a house in the woods with her boyfriend Josh, played by Jack Quaid. From there, a series of violent and gruesome events begin to occur, which leads to Iris discovering dark secrets about herself and her relationship with Josh.
To start off, this film is immensely difficult to talk about without giving too much of the plot away. I was fortunate enough to head into this completely blind which greatly enhanced my viewing experience, so for the sake of this review I will divide it up into two sections. First spoiler-free, then spoilers.
Beginning with the spoiler-free stuff, you can see from what I previously stated that the twists do the film a great deal of favors when watching it. However, this serves a big detriment to the film when trying to recommend it. While this may sound bad, there is still a decent amount of things to chew on here, like the themes and perspectives the film takes on 21st century romance. Technology is a central aspect in the film and it does an effective job at conveying how this has negatively affected how we perceive romantic relationships. While this may make the film sound drab and dreary, there is still a decent amount of comedy sprinkled in, and thankfully it doesn’t undercut any of the dramatic moments. Even if those things aren’t your fancy, there is also a good amount of gorey spectacle that will keep many horror fans amused. If any of that sounds good to you, then I’d definitely recommend seeing this film. Now, onto the spoilers. You have been warned.
At the end of the first act, it is revealed that Iris is actually a companion robot, whose personality, appearance and intelligence are completely under the control of Josh so she can appear as his perfect girlfriend. With the internet’s increasing presence in our lives, it has heavily warped certain people’s views on romantic relationships, with some formulating an idealized version of what their partner should look and act like. You don’t have to look far to see this, you could just check your social media feeds and see what I’m referring to. This revelation works exceedingly well due to the fact that Iris had no free will and was trapped in a loveless relationship without even realizing it, ultimately making her the victim in this horror scenario.
Thatcher’s performance is great, as her evolution from an endearing and unassuming accessory to Josh to a sharper woman with newfound free will is extremely cathartic to watch. As for Quaid, he strikes a firm balance between being the film’s pathetic punching bag and being a legitimate threat. The dinner scene toward the end where he explains his self-centered and flawed worldview is a clear highlight. Harvey Guillén and Lukas Gage also feature as another human-robot couple who are actually in love with each other, which creates a nice juxtaposition to Iris and Josh’s relationship, while also being a source of captivating and disheartening drama when Josh ends up destroying it for personal gain.
There is also some solid worldbuilding here without the film having to show too much. Toward the end where two technicians show up to take Iris away, the audience discovers through them that the company they work for is this mega-monopoly like Apple and one of them is seemingly complacent about the inhumane treatment many of the robots receive from the people who purchased them. It’s a small tidbit but still chilling when you realize that what’s happening with Iris and Josh isn’t unique to that world.
Overall, I’d give this feature nine self-driving cars out of ten. This makes me very eager to see what Hancock will do next. I’m looking forward to seeing him beef up his filmography as one of the only other real credits he’s received was as a writer on “Fred 3: Camp Fred,” and thankfully that will not be his legacy. Go watch the film and see what you think!
9/10