Companion is an effective and stylish genre entry that proves Drew Hancock has an eye for tension and storytelling. It solidifies Sophie Thatcher as one of the most compelling horror leads working today.
‘Companion’ Movie Review
I went into Companion completely blind, and that’s the best way to experience it. Drew Hancock’s directorial debut thrives on twists, constantly reinventing itself in ways that keep the audience on edge. The film shares DNA with Barbarian (2022), which makes sense given that Barbarian director Zach Cregger serves as a producer here. Both films pull the rug out from under viewers, placing their protagonists in escalating danger with seemingly no way out. But as was the case with Barbarian, discussing Companion without spoilers is nearly impossible—so consider this your warning.
Sophie Thatcher (Heretic, MaXXXine) stars as Iris, who embarks on a trip to a remote lakehouse with her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) for a weekend with his friends. Their relationship isn’t perfect—Josh’s subtle condescension hints at deeper issues—but Iris remains loyal. However, a game-changing revelation upends everything: Iris isn’t human. She’s a companion robot, her personality and emotions dictated by a smart tablet that can adjust her intelligence, aggression, and compliance. Josh has crafted an entire backstory for their relationship, but it’s all fabricated—just a memory implant to give her a sense of reality.
Josh’s true intentions come to light when he uses Iris to execute his plan: kill the house’s owner, Sergey (Rupert Friend), a drug dealer with a fortune stashed in the house. But after successfully carrying out the murder, Iris learns the truth about herself, triggering a desperate attempt to escape before Josh resets her to factory settings.
The lakehouse crew also includes Sergey’s girlfriend Kat (Megan Suri), along with Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage), another couple—though it’s later revealed that Patrick, like Iris, is also a companion robot.
With so many twists packed into its runtime, Companion moves at a breakneck pace. The constant reinventions keep things unpredictable, but they can also dilute the tension—once you realize another twist is always around the corner, the shock factor lessens. Still, Hancock manages to keep a firm grip on the film’s themes, exploring human emotions versus artificial programming with enough depth to keep things engaging. Much of that success is thanks to Sophie Thatcher, who delivers a standout performance, perfectly balancing the uncanny mix of human warmth and robotic detachment.
The film’s biggest weakness lies in its dialogue, especially the exchanges between Josh and Iris. Once the audience understands the true nature of their relationship, their conversations lose impact. Jack Quaid does fine with what he’s given, but his character quickly devolves from layered manipulator to a one-note villain. The film ultimately belongs to Thatcher, whose range far outshines Quaid’s, largely because she’s given so much more to work with.
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Despite its flaws, Companion is an effective and stylish genre entry that proves Drew Hancock has an eye for tension and storytelling. While it’s not as wildly audacious as Barbarian, it’s a sharp and engaging horror-thriller that fans of the genre should check out. If nothing else, it solidifies Sophie Thatcher as one of the most compelling horror leads working today.
Rating: 6/10
Companion (2025)
- Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, Rupert Friend, Jaboukie Young-White, Marc Menchaca
- Director: Drew Hancock
- Genre: Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Runtime: 97 minutes
- Rated: R
- Release Date: January 31, 2025
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