‘Companion’ is a fun and clever twist on a classic genre

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — MILD SPOILERS AHEAD for Companion, if you haven’t seen any trailers or marketing for this movie. Those who don’t know anything about Companion should just go see it at the theater right now, but if you know anything about this one, none of what you read will be a surprise.

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Synopsis

Josh (Jack Quaid) and his deeply devoted and attached girlfriend, Iris (Sophie Thatcher), travel to a secluded mansion for a weekend getaway in the woods with their friends. When Sergey (Rubert Friend), the owner of the estate, attempts to sexually assault Iris, she defends herself by stabbing him to death.

It’s revealed that Iris is a Companion robot who is programmed to believe she’s a real human and in love with Josh, doing anything to please him. Not only that, but this has all been an elaborate plan by Josh and his friends to steal Sergey’s money and set Iris up for his murder. Iris is able to gain autonomy and escape into the woods, putting Josh and his friends on the hunt.

My thoughts

Do you know the movie Weird Science? The 1985 one with Robert Downey Jr. and Anthony Michael Hall? Well, I don’t like it.

Yeah, I said it. It certainly isn’t some “classic” in my eyes. Many 80’s comedies have not aged well over the years, particularly the raunchy ones that focused on hormonal teenagers. To put it lightly, how these classics treated women was… morally questionable. Teenage boys or men taking advantage of women was par for the course in these movies and almost always played for laughs.

That’s why I don’t like Weird Science at all. Not only is it simply one of John Hughes’ weaker efforts, but when I watched it for the first time a few years back, I just felt gross. Maybe if I had watched it as a teenager without a fully developed brain, I would have lapped up the fantasy of being able to create my own supermodel woman. However, through any mature, rational lens, it’s an annoying, moronic, tasteless movie that’s representative of the worst aspects of 80’s comedies.

What does it mean to be human?

Now, to talk about a good movie. Companion is kind of the same general idea of Weird Science, but if it was actually good. It might seem unfair to compare a modern sci-fi thriller film to a vapid teen sex comedy from 40 years ago, but Drew Hancock’s Companion feels like a repudiation of those exact types of movies. Imagine if Weird Science had Kelly LeBrock turning into a Terminator and annihilating those little twerps. That would have been awesome.

That’s kind of what we get here with Companion, although it’s executed with far more tact and maturity than the way I just pitched it. Even if the character Josh here didn’t actually create Iris to be his companion, Iris and other companion bots like her basically serve the same purpose as Kelly LeBrock in Weird Science: providing lonely, pathetic losers a sexual partner because they can’t get one themselves.

Of course, that’s not supposed to be their only purpose. These companion bots are so advanced that they can basically be your maid, butler, chef, accountant, personal assistant or whatever you so desire. It would be a great tool to have around the house, but Hancock shines a grim light on how that usually wouldn’t be the case. There are a lot of people out there who would use these companions to live out their most twisted fantasies.

It all brings up an intriguing exploration on the idea of autonomy and whether machines are capable of “feeling” or not. We all get mad at technology from time to time, cursing it or sometimes physically abusing it to make it do our bidding. Maybe “abuse” isn’t the right word, as they’re not living things, but when these machines start looking and acting more and more like human beings, the lines of the definition begin to blur.

It’s all quite reminiscent of other sci-fi properties like the works of Isaac Asimov, The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, and even some episodes of Star Trek. These machines can apparently feel in their own unique way, even feeling some modicum of pain, but that doesn’t make them human… or does it? Companion raises similar questions while tying them into a story about relationships built upon abuse, gaslighting, and control.

Zach Cregger, of The Whitest Kids U’ Know fame, produced Companion, and he was originally going to direct. Although Drew Hancock wrote the script, Cregger’s fingerprints are all over this project. Cregger wrote and directed 2022’s Barbarian, another twisty horror film with similar themes of abuse, bodily autonomy, and social dynamics between men and women. Like Jordan Peele, Cregger also comes from a comedy background, now making horror movies with pertinent social commentary.

Terminate her

There’s still plenty of fun, over-the-top violence, and gore to be had, but there’s a real story being told here with a genuine thematic undercurrent that truly keeps it engaging. Hancock’s script is quite clever, with constant little twists and revelations to keep you on your toes, the elements all tying together to make for an incredibly satisfying narrative. The thrills are there, but you’re getting a great flick overall.

I would have liked to see Hancock push the concept a bit further. He was only given $10 million, so it was probably due to budgetary constraints, but he opened the door to many interesting ideas to explore. There’s no real need for a sequel as the story is complete, but the world Hancock and Cregger create is interesting enough to where I wouldn’t mind seeing more.

Sophie Thatcher’s performance goes a long way in making the audience feel sympathy for Iris. Her line delivery and body language embody the uncanny valley nature of an artificial human. She doesn’t talk or walk quite right, and something is always a little “off” with her. As the events of the movie play out, you can see cracks of humanity beginning to shine through as Iris becomes more self-aware and sufficient.

Jack Quaid plays the usual wimpy, insecure guy he’s mostly known for playing. While I hope he doesn’t get too typecast, he does these roles well, especially the more sinister ones like here. He slowly grows more intense as Iris continues to elude him, and when he goes full “abusive, controlling boyfriend mode”, he’s downright terrifying. The other characters are well-developed and threatening in their own unique ways, giving Iris a lot to go up against.

Final verdict

What sets Companion apart from most of its other killer robot movie brethren is that you’re supposed to root for the killer robot here. I know we’ve been forced to root for killer robots before, with the likes of Terminator 2, but there’s still this desire for humans to survive. When everything is fully revealed in Companion, you want to see Iris kill every single last one of these jerks.

It reminded me a lot of Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, which is also about a female android becoming self-aware and taking advantage of her creators. The implications of that movie end up being far more bleak, but the same type of empowerment these two android characters are experiencing is the same. Companion just feels far more uplifting and is the only time a movie has made me feel comfortable with a robot uprising... almost, anyway.