‘Companion’ review: Dumb Ex Machina

The poise of Sophie Thatcher and smugness of Jack Quaid save the script slip-ups of the horror comedy Companion.

It’s great to have a killer premise for a movie. After struggling to come up with something new and fresh for the audiences of today, it can feel like a true victory to have something fresh for a film. But then comes the next hurdle: following through on as much potential as that premise promises. That actually can be much harder than the initial pitch, because now you have to ask tough questions: How much can I put into one script? Will the studio bankroll a budget to make it all work? Should everything be subtle or slathered all over the screen? It’s a tight rope to walk on and Companion succeeds at holding its great concept steady…for the most part.

The titular Companion is Iris (Sophie Thatcher), the well-spoken romantic paired with unassuming “nice guy” Josh (Jack Quaid) during a weekend getaway to the lake house of Russian high-roller Sergey (Rupert Friend). The pair are enjoying a couple’s getaway with Josh’s friend/Sergey’s beau Kat (Megan Suri), fellow friend Eli (Harvey Guillén) and his partner Patrick (Lukas Gage). Everything’s going smoothly, until Iris comes back to the house covered in blood with a knife in her pocket. With a simple command, Josh shuts Irish down and a sinister plot starts to unfold. With a shocking truth revealed, Iris must find her way out of an increasingly bizarre situation.

Troubleshooting.

Give credit to writer/director Drew Hancock (Blue Mountain State, Fred 3: Camp Fred) for giving a routine concept (what if technology turned against us) a modern twist. The tech bro domination of the world is leering (if not already here), so it’s no wonder Hancock can craft a dark vision of how they’d handle their shortcomings in the dating world. Without spoiling too much (or at least any more than the trailer has), imagine a world where Real Dolls got a little too real. Again, it’s a killer concept with potential that Hancock mostly reaches. He’s got some good gags and plot devices involving Iris and her “tech-friendly” backstory that keeps its brisk 97-minute runtime afloat all the way through its extended climax. Much like its producers’ predecessor Barbarian, Companion does well balancing its attempts at shock value with dark comedy at the expense of the oblivious upper class.

Yet for all that Companion sets up, its misses are hard to ignore. The “rules” it sets up for Iris (and others) to follow hint at potential for more clever bits, but the movie doesn’t follow through on it. For every fun step it takes forward (Iris’s clever language skills with a cop), it misses the chance at another fun twist (the act of a “factory reset”). You’d think the movie would find other ways to break from the monotony of its lake house and forest settings, but it stays stuck either due to keeping its premise from getting too wildly or its $10 million budget from ballooning. Sure it’s economical and wise to keep a slick concept from getting too convoluted, but Companion never takes the wild swings you’d hope it would by its finale. For such a creepy premise, Hancock plays things surprisingly safe.

Lovebirds.

What its script lacks in daringness, Companion at least has a well-committed cast. Thatcher, in her second horror role in two months (Heretic), makes for a fine mix of lovesick fawn and femme fatale. She may look like what would happen if Amy Winehouse took The Substance, but Thatcher can turn her stare from alluring to cold-blooded like few others in her league. The way she delivers every scathing line makes you wish she had more vengeful fun as the movie goes on, especially at Quaid’s expense. As one of Hollywood’s most tolerable nepo babies, Quaid is wise enough to use his friendly aura as a mask for Josh’s darker (and dumber) intentions. Sure he may have pulled this trick already with the 2022 Scream reboot, but at least he brings more comedy this time around.

Another comedy ace in the cast is Guillén, famous for FX’s What We Do in the Shadows and getting a nice cinematic showcase here. Another charming TV actor with cuddly energy, Guillén also turns that on its head while also having one of the few genuinely romantic moments in the movie. Gage makes for a fine scene partner and plays a surprisingly bigger role as the movie goes on. Suri gets saddled with the few droll comedy beats, while the only notable thing about Friend is how he’s dressed like a non-playable character from Grand Theft Auto.

The bottom line.

It’s strange to see Companion as a hyped Warner Bros. production (New Line Cinema, technically) as it has more in common with a Blumhouse picture: low budget, eyebrow-raising concept, and slightly diminishing returns. The good news is that Companion hits more than it misses, and even its “misses” are just missed opportunities rather than eye-rolling miscalculations. It has a solid mixture of dark humor and gore for a crowd with some ominous visions of future that’ll stick with you once the credits role. The biggest flaw is that this isn’t a Valentine’s Day release. You have to wonder what kind of awkward conversations this would spark between couples in rockier relationships.

Companion is now playing in theaters everywhere. Watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Read more reviews by Jon Winkler here.