January is typically a dumping ground for studios to release their weakest films to theaters. Most studios will release movies they think have blockbuster potential in the summer while releasing potential award-season contenders around the holidays. The beginning of the year, especially January, is usually when studios release movies they think have the least potential. It has been that way for years, but Drew Hancock’s Companion has shown studios that January doesn’t have to be a dumping ground. Smart, entertaining movies can and should be released at the beginning of the year.
Companion is a blast from start to finish. A blend of sci-fi, horror, thriller, and comedy, it never fails to entertain. It’s fun, clever, has an interesting concept, and a unique take on gender norms. Sophie Thatcher has proven herself a worthy scream queen and Jack Quaid is ridiculously good at playing unlikable characters. While the last round of marketing for the film revealed a bit too much about the plot, plenty of surprises remain to be uncovered. With an intelligent script and endless thrills, Companion is surely a fun time at the movies. The twists and turns unfold naturally, but we are breaking down each twist in detail.

Companion

4.5
/5

Release Date

January 31, 2025

Runtime

97 Minutes

Director

Drew Hancock

Writers

Drew Hancock

Read Our Review
Iris Isn’t Human

Companion opens up with a flashback of Iris (Thatcher) walking through the grocery store where she meets her boyfriend Josh (Quaid) and a voiceover of her talking about the two happiest moments of her life. She says the first is when she met Josh, and the second is when she killed him. So, right from the get-go, it is evident there is something different about the relationship between Iris and Josh. However, it is also evident that there is something different about Iris.

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Iris clearly loves Josh. She’s doting, affectionate, and just wants to make him happy. She’s a little too dedicated to him and seems to happily do whatever he asks with no complaint. She even tells him the exact weather report when he asks what the weather is like at the remote luxury cabin they’re staying in with friends. It’s odd that she would know the specifics of the weather report on the spot, but she answers him with precise detail. Just a short while later, Iris is tied up to a chair after murdering their wealthy host, Sergey (Rupert Friend) in self-defense after he tries to take advantage of her. The weather trick is used just a short while later when Josh, rather nonchalantly, reveals to Iris that she is not his girlfriend, but instead a Companion robot meant to satisfy a human’s romantic needs.
Josh ordered Iris from a company called Empathix which specializes in AI-powered robots that are controlled by an app that manages everything from their appearance to their intelligence level. He felt he deserved to have a girlfriend, so he bought a custom-made one that would have no control over her mind or body. Iris quickly realizes that Josh doesn’t care about her the way she thought he did. So, she accepts the fact that she’s not human and grabs his phone so she can escape without being under his control. Josh set her intelligence level to 40%, so she increases it all the way to 100% and shuts off the voice command setting.
Patrick Isn’t Who He Seems Either

Among the friends staying with them are Kat (Megan Suri), Eli (Harvey Guillen), and Eli’s loving boyfriend, Patrick (Lukas Gage). Kat is having an affair with Sergey, which is why they are able to stay at the billionaire’s luxurious vacation home. After Iris escapes into the woods, Josh and his friends scramble to figure out how to get her back before the police arrive. Eli discovers that Sergey had $12 million stashed in a safe that Kat knew about, and the group begins arguing about how they’re going to split the money now that Sergey is dead. Eli argues that it should be split four ways between the four of them, while Josh and Kat believe it should only be split between the three of them, as Patrick doesn’t count.
As Patrick tries to console Eli, Eli feigns a kiss before he says “Patrick, go to sleep”. It is at this moment that the audience learns Patrick is a companion robot as well. After deciding the money will be split three ways instead of four, Eli wakes Patrick up to help him look for Iris. Eli grabs a gun and the couple head out into the woods to look for Iris on foot. While stopping to take a break from searching, Patrick reveals a surprise of his own to Eli. Patrick admits that he has known for a long time that he is also a Companion robot. This comes as a shock to Eli, but Patrick ensures him he is at peace with the knowledge. He tells Eli he pieced it together over time but doesn’t care because he loves Eli and knows that Eli loves him. Eli tells Patrick he will never treat him the way Iris treats Josh, and the two embrace.
Their touching moment is quickly interrupted when Josh’s phone buzzes, alerting them to Iris’ hiding spot behind a tree just a few feet from them. Iris makes a break for it, but Eli catches up to her and drags her down to the ground. The gun is knocked out of Eli’s hand and the two wrestle for control of it. During the struggle, Iris gets hold of the gun, and it goes off, shooting Eli in the stomach and killing him.
Josh and Kat Had a Plan All Along

While Josh, Kat, and Eli were arguing about how the money should be split, we learned that Josh and Kat had Sergey’s murder planned from the beginning. Sergey was married while he was dating Kat and was a terrible boyfriend to her, and Josh believed he was involved with the Russian mafia. That led the two of them to devise a plan to get rid of him so they could take his stash of money. Josh planted a pocket knife in the pocket of Iris’ shorts, increased her aggression level, and disabled her inability to harm a person, essentially “jail-breaking” Iris’ settings. Kat suggested to Sergey that he should have sex with Iris because that’s what she’s meant to do as a Companion, which led to Iris reacting the way she did.
Since Iris broke free from the house, their plans to frame her for the murder and steal Sergey’s wealth were foiled. When they learn that Eli is dead as well, Josh reprograms Patrick to be a Companion to him and jail-breaks the settings the way he did with Iris to order him to find Iris and bring her back to the house. While the newly programmed Patrick is on the hunt for Iris, Kat and Josh get into an argument about their plans that went horribly awry. Kat is feeling remorseful since Eli wound up dead, but Josh tries to justify their actions by saying they rid the world of an abusive Russian mafia member. Kat admits that Sergey didn’t even have mafia ties, Josh just assumed that and she never corrected him.

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Wildly entertaining from beginning to end, Companion never fails to keep its audience engaged. The twists and turns are just as fun as they are shocking. It has more than enough thrills and chills to keep you guessing and thinking about what will happen next. The chemistry between Sophie Thatcher’s Iris and Jack Quaid’s Josh is thrilling, especially when they square off against each other.

Companion is currently playing in theaters.