Companion is a thriller film released on Jan. 31, 2025. Containing a dash of sci-fi elements and dark comedy, it is primarily entangled in the tragic feelings of toxic relationships. Featuring well-known actors, Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, star together in leading roles.
The film opens with Iris (Thatcher) recalling a flashback to introduce the connection with her current boyfriend. One day while at the grocery store, she meets Josh (Quaid) and watches him accidentally spill a display of oranges in an attempt to make a good first impression. They both share a laugh and become absolutely enamored with each other.
Returning to the present, Iris and Josh travel to a secluded lakehouse to meet up with their other friends: Kat, Eli, and Patrick. After gaining acquaintance with the Russian homeowner, Sergey, the four of them party the night away by drinking and dancing to music. Josh wakes up the following morning with a hangover and suggests that Iris should go on ahead without him. After she leaves, he inserts a jailbreaking modification into his smartphone and adjusts some hidden settings.
While by the beachside, Iris refuses Sergey’s creepy advances, but he doesn’t stop. She returns to the lakehouse drenched in blood, shocking everyone. Iris reveals she killed him in self-defense using a switchblade from Josh’s luggage. As she continues to panic, he commands her with a simple phrase: “Iris, go to sleep,” mentally shutting her down.
She awakens tied up to a chair, and Josh confronts Iris about her origins, explaining that she is an Empathix companion robot that can be controlled with a mobile app. Having overridden her safety features, Josh had set her up to kill Sergey on purpose to steal his personal savings with Kat. As Eli reports the incident to the police, Iris slips out of her restraints and escapes into the forest.
I would say Sophie Thatcher’s performance as Iris is the best part of this film. It was great to see Iris struggle dealing with accepting that she was a robot and attempts to plead for her own humanity. Jack Quaid also did great in his role, providing great chemistry as his character acted very possessively over Iris and remained entitled to deserve a better life than just being some loser.
This film does a great job of representing the toxic side of relationships, particularly in the aspects of control and entitlement. Acting with self-centeredness and arrogance, Josh became someone to anticipate their downfall which sure did pay off in the end. He even openly admitted that Eli and Patrick were only invited to provide corroboration. And his entitlement continues as he decides to take all of Sergey’s money for his own personal gain.
All in all, I recommend giving Companion a watch as it was decently entertaining and fun to watch the character dynamics throughout the course of the film.
