Written and directed by Drew Hancock, ‘Companion’ is an original story set in a world where robots are designed to look and act like humans and serve as romantic partners. The film stars Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage and more, and is set to release in cinemas worldwide this month.

Josh and Iris are a seemingly happy couple who are infatuated with each other and are on their way to spend a weekend at a beach house with friends. Iris is nervous about meeting his friends again as the previous meeting was awkward, but Josh reassures her that this time will be better. They arrive and meet up with the two other couples, Eli and Patrick, and Sergey and Kat, and Iris tries her best to mingle and fit in with everyone.

The next morning, Iris finds herself alone with Sergey who tries to force himself on her before Iris stabs him to death out of self-defense. She returns to the beach house covered in his blood to the shock of everyone, but she’s also puzzled by how some are acting about it which adds to her confusion and stress. She suddenly finds herself tied to a chair with Josh breaking the news to her that she is actually a robot designed for companionship. The most confusing part about all of this, however, is that she is also designed to never hurt anyone, adding another layer of mystery to the whole ordeal.

Sophie Thatcher stars as Iris, who is part of a line of robots designed for companionship, but she had no idea until it was revealed to her. She and all the other robots are designed to do everything a human does from performing basic tasks, feeling human emotions and above all, being the ideal companion to the person who purchased them.

Because of all this, Sophie portrays Iris as a regular human infatuated with Josh but also shows raw human emotions, especially when she finds out she isn’t who she thought she was the whole time. Even memories prior to being delivered to Josh’s home were all programmed in. Despite not being a real person, audiences will still sympathise with her and even more so as more of the story is revealed.

Jack Quaid portrays Josh, the boyfriend of Iris who purchases her to be his ideal companion. He’s seen as loving and attentive to Iris, but also a little unappreciative at times of what Iris does for him. Because Iris is designed to be head over heels for him, he occasionally takes that for granted and sometimes does things only when it’s convenient for him. Essentially, he can also be a lousy boyfriend. Early in the film, he seems to be up to something and more of his character is revealed after the first major plot twist and the audience’s opinions of him will quickly change.

The film also stars Harvey Guillén and Lukas Gage as Eli and Patrick respectively, another loving couple who unfortunately get caught up in the murder, Megan Suri as Kat who is clearly disapproving of Iris’s kind and is also dating, or at least just sleeping with a much older Sergey, a sleazy rich man from Russia who owns the beach house and is played by Rupert Friend. They all play important roles in the film and more of them are also revealed as the story progresses.

Robots designed to look and act like humans aren’t a new concept, but Companion is a fresh new take on the idea. Unlike films like ‘The Terminator’ series or games like 2018’s ‘Detroit Become Human’; these robots are designed specifically for companionship and aren’t taking jobs away from humans and aren’t trying to take over the world.

These robots are also built with features to make them 100% unthreatening to humans, but certain things happen in the film that could seriously jeopardise all this because some characters get too greedy.

Despite being classified as a horror movie, Companion may not be the scariest movie out there, but it also isn’t trying to be and that works in its favour. It still has its fair share of shocking and violent scenes, but it never tries to be overly creative when someone is killed. Everything that happens in this movie, happens for a reason.

What is scary about this film, is that with how the real world is going these days and how technology and AI are progressing at a fast rate, the concept of robots taking over the world could actually become a reality, even if it’s still decades away from happening. AI girlfriends already do exist today and this film shows what it could look like in future and how tampering with it could lead

to deadly situations. At the same time, it also shows how some people take their romantic partners for granted, do things when it’s convenient for them or even take advantage of them. Despite Iris being designed to be Josh’s perfect girlfriend and barely complaining or objecting to anything he does, the film still shows how some people can be controlling and manipulative in a relationship.

The film’s setting seems to be in the modern day but with some advanced technology. The companion robots also come with a phone app to adjust their settings such as eye colour, voice tone, language and even their intelligence.

They’re also designed to never lie, even if they wanted to and it’s interesting to see how Iris overcomes this when she finds herself in a situation where she needs to hide the truth. For a slasher film, the overall presentation has a lighter, colourful and friendly tone, which really contrasts with the shocking scenes that occur. The mix of romance songs and horror tunes also work in contrast with each other in a film that is part romantic comedy but mostly a murder mystery slasher flick.

There isn’t much to criticise about with Companion. The story and its plot twists are well thought out and feel original, while also bringing in elements of the old concept of robots taking over the world. The only drawback would be the film’s marketing as some of the major plot twists were already given away in the trailers. Movie trailers need to create intrigue and entice potential audiences to want to see the film, but the trailers for Companion gave away a little too much, especially since the best parts of the film rely heavily on the plot. It would be best to not see the trailers at all and just watch the film, as it keeps things simple and the story is easy to follow.

Murder mystery films are difficult to make original these days, but Companion is one of the better ones in recent history. It creates a fresh new and original take on old concepts, giving a glimpse of what the future could look like, for better or for worse. Sophie Thatcher’s performance will make you empathise and feel for her, even if she isn’t human and the plot twists add extra layers of mystery to the overall story. It starts off as a romantic comedy but doesn’t end like one. For anyone looking for an original murder mystery slasher film, Companion is a must-see.

Written by: Sammy Hanson