Yep, this is very much my frequency of movie.

Five friends take a trip to a countryside house. But for Josh, Iris, Kat, Eli, and Patrick, not everything is as it seems…

Companion is arguably a career first feature film by writer/director Drew Hancock. Previously having worked on television, shorts, and Tenacious D videos, his filmography would not suggest similar interests to Alex Garland. Starring Sophie Thatcher (2024’s excellent Heretic) and Jack Quaid (The Boys) Companion has a lot of confidence and homeruns for such a small project.

The film follows Iris and Josh, a young couple travelling out into the wilderness to meet up with friends for a getaway. They both seem infatuated with each other, but upon arriving at the house, Josh’s other friends react coldly to his new sweetheart. Kat (Megan Suri) seems to be an old flame of Josh, and she seems to have a relationship with the cabin’s owner Sergey (Rupert Friend). Is it all just young adult melodrama, or is there more to it?

Resting somewhere between Abigail and Netflix’s Black Mirror, the film is a near-future sci-fi feminist comedy thriller? That sentence went places. The film’s promotions are perhaps too on the nose, suggesting Companion is scarier than it is, all for this Valentine’s season. It doesn’t overly hide its premise; the film is only ninety minutes long so it needs to move at a good clip.

That said, to talk about the premise candidly. Sophie Thatcher’s character, Iris, is a robot. A robot designed to care for and indeed give pleasure to Josh. She is however just a normal girl from outward appearances, and doesn’t even know that she isn’t human.
The film begins and immediately starts dropping hints like breadcrumbs. A fully self-driving car; suggesting we are in the near future. Josh subtly telling Iris to “go to sleep”. Iris being referred to by a stranger as a “beautiful creation”. It isn’t exactly subtle, but subtle enough to be enjoyable on a repeat viewing.

As silly and contrived as some of it is ultimately, these sorts of near-future “slices of life” stories fascinate me.

The carnage that ensues is abrupt; the film kicking into gear and revealing all of its cards at once. But it isn’t just the one revelation that Iris is a robot; there’s a little more going on. It is certainly a dark comedy, even in these bloody sequences. One particular moment sees Iris feeling companionship to Josh’s car. Or another sees Josh literally experiencing being dumped by a pleasure robot. The writing is witty but not aggressively so; just enough to jive with the weird sci-fi elements of the movie.

You feel for Iris. Jack Quaid plays a love-to-hate-him sort of character. A man who seems nice enough, but turns out to be a manipulating, self-pitying jerk. The story’s third arc takes some brutal turns, to give Iris the redemption we want to see for her without succumbing to the cold reality of her situation.

Some other characters do get caught in the crossfire, who maybe didn’t deserve it…

These sorts of near-future stories get my mind working. If you enjoy Black Mirror, or even just comedic-edged thrillers like Abigail or Scream, there’s plenty here for you.