The AI/Robot horror genre has seen an influx of new entries with titles like M3GAN, Subservience and Afraid, getting us prepared for our AI creations to inevitably turn on us. Companion is the latest addition to the growing genre but is far less concerned with the scares and more with whether AI beings are living beings.
Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) are a cute couple spending the weekend away with Josh’s friends, Kat (Megan Suri), Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage), at a remote cabin owned by Kat’s boyfriend Sergei (Lukas Gage). The trip soon turns awry as a series of chaotic events lead to Josh telling Iris that she is in fact a companion robot.
Companion is a really fun ride that has some good twists, turns and reveals that are really smart and tackles the idea of Robots or AI being living beings and more than just programming. The exploration of whether these robots actually feel love was very interesting and touching. The film moves at a solid pace as its 97-minute run time flew by.
While the film has a solid foundation on a script on the concept level, it is greatly elevated by the cast. Sophie Thatcher is incredible as Iris, truly conveying the feeling of someone coming to terms with their life not only being a lie and not being human but also not in full control of their own body. Jack Quaid is great as the lovable boyfriend, a role we’ve seen him do well in the past, but when he turns he really sinks his teeth into the material. Lukas Gage and Harvey Guillén are really wonderful together while Rupert Freind certainly makes an impression in his time on screen.
Those looking for something to get their heart rate skyrocketing will likely go away disappointed as there are far more laughs to be had in Companion than scares. That’s not to say there aren’t some horror elements, there are a few instances of violence against Thatcher’s Iris which may be unsettling and dealing with heavy themes of control, abuse, and toxic masculinity.
A very small-scale film, it knows what it wants to focus on and squeezes all the potential out of it. Much like Abigail last year, Companion is best experienced going in without reading about the plot or watching the trailer (sorry), but it is still a great time even knowing the initial twist by delving into more than just the film’s premise.
Ashley Hobley attended an advance screening of Companion thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures Australia and Reading Cinemas.
