Companion review

What's it about?

A group of friends get together at a remote house in the middle of the woods. Seems like an incredibly cliched story, but that is all depending on how much of the advertising campaign you saw. I went into this film completely blind. The only facts I was aware of were two of the stars, Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher, and that it was on a list of upcoming horror movies.

After watching the movie I found out that many of the surprises throughout the movie were revealed in the trailers and I'm just glad I went in completely blind. This would have been an entirely different viewing experience had I been aware of the sci-fi element of this movie, and even the opening kill is spoiled in the synopsis I read after watching it. These spoiler heavy ad campaigns need to be stopped!

What happens?

( *Spoilers* )

The movie starts with a meet cute between our two main characters, Josh and Iris, and continues with the couple on their way to a remote "cabin in the woods", where they are meeting up with Josh's friends. Iris is nervous about spending the weekend with them, she feels like an outsider in the group, and Josh does a pretty terrible job of trying to comfort her, telling her not to be "mopey and weird".

As we are introduced to the friend group, the dynamic between Kat and Josh seems to be a little suspicious, and Kat seems to be the one in the group most hostile towards Iris. Most of the next 15 to 20 minutes is spent getting to know the characters, Sergey is the owner of the house and Kat's much older, Russian, boyfriend. Patrick and Eli are the other couple in thr group, they seem to be more welcoming and warm towards Iris.

Things go off the rail the next day when Sergey is left alone with Iris and assaults her. Iris stabs and kills Sergey during this assault and when she goes inside to get help Josh tells her to go to sleep and this is when it is revealed that Iris is an android. This twist was actually revealed in the trailers and ad campaigns for the movie, which is disappointing in my opinion. There were several subtle hints throughout the beginning of the movie that something was a little off but I found the journey to that revelation very satisfying and it's just disappointing that most were robbed of that journey.

This is the point of the movie where the horror elements really kick in. It is soon revealed that Josh and Kat had planned this entire thing so that they could steal the $12 million Sergey had in his safe. Iris foils these plans by escaping, forcing Josh and Kat to inform Eli and Patrick of their plans. At this point we find out Patrick is also an android, just like Iris, known as Companions.

In the search for Iris, Eli is killed, and Josh hacks into Patrick to use him to hunt down Iris. A lot more chaos ensues with several people being killed off until there is a final showdown between Josh and Iris. This final moment is foreshadowed in the beginning of the movie with Iris recalling the two pivotal moments of her life, the day she met Josh and the day she killed Josh.

After Iris kills Josh she take all the money from Sergey's safe and takes off down the road in his convertible. Possibly on her way to leading a android revolution, a la I, Robot.

So, what happened?

The story here is pretty straightforward, not much is left unanswered or ambiguous. There is a clear connection between Josh and Iris's relationship and that of other toxic relationship dynamics. Partners being abusive, controlling, selfish, narcissistic, etc. Iris killing Josh and having her own autonomy in the end is the abused partner taking back control of their life.

How was it?

Companion was an enjoyable ride, keeping you guessing while the plot moved along at a rapid pace. The performances were all great, the comedy and horror blended perfectly, and the ending was satisfying. It's not going to blow anyone away, but it is a solid

4/5

Who would like this?

If you're a fan of quirky horror comedies then this movie is right up your alley.

Next up:

Review of the Valentine's slasher Heart Eyes is next up on the docket.

See you at the movies.