Whatever you do, don’t watch the trailer for Companion before you see the film. Word on the street is that the trailers give away the central twist of the new one from writer/director Drew Hancock, and so much of the fun comes from not knowing what the big moment is all about. Assuming you do go in blind, prepare for provocative takes on class politics, misogyny, tech and autonomy doled out in the form of a horror-lite/sci-fi thriller type of thing set in the not-too-distant future.
In Companion, the young and beautiful Iris (Sophie Thatcher, Yellowjackets) is nervous about a lakeside weekend hangout with her boyfriend Josh and his friends. Said boyfriend (The Hunger Games’ Hack Quaid) seems like a sweetie-pie at first, but the more we learn Iris just wants to make him happy, the more he seems irked by her conditionless love and the more we kind of hate him.
The same could be said of Josh’s friends, including Kat (Megan Suri) and Eli (What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillén, from whom it’s nice to see a new kind of performance) and Patrick (Lukas Gage), all of whom seem to barely tolerate Iris for reasons unknown. As for the Russian billionaire who owns the remote lakehouse and wanders around in various states of creepiness? Well, he’s easy to barely tolerate. And then the murders start, bringing into question ideas of free will, toxic love and Machiavellianism. Does love as we know it exist, or is it manufactured? Must we suppress ourselves for the sake of others? Even if we mustn’t, don’t we do that kind of often? Who controls whom when it comes to relationships? Hancock explores these elements between gripping cat-and-mouse chase scenes, moments of comic levity and no small amount of spilled blood—and it should really make its audience consider their own actions.
Thatcher dominates Companion with a sort of twin take on a character who is quite literally all about love, but is pushed too far and robbed of her innocence. This becomes strangely enjoyable once her character learns there’s no such thing as too far. Quaid wows as well as the capital-F FUCKBOI role, too, and it seems there is no depth to which he won’t sink. This only makes Iris’ eventual wake-up call all the more satisfying—and heartbreaking.
Companion likely won’t snag the Oscar come awards season (maybe for writing), but it’s still an important watch as we navigate the horrors of the world alongside the pervasive nature of tech and our reliance upon it. If you don’t see the twist coming, it’s all the more fun, though there’s still a lot to enjoy even if you already know. This one’s a talker, for sure.
8
+Makes you think; Thatcher kills; fun and surprisingly funny
-Final act lull; seems to set itself up for a needless sequel
Violet Crown Cinema,, 97 min.