Companion Serves Up Clever Commentary on Romance and A.I.
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
By Luis Zonenberg
‘Tis the season for love, romance, and horror films perfect for any date night. As Valentine’s Day approaches, I felt it only necessary to outline some movies fitting the season. Especially in this modern age and the booming of artificial intelligence, it only made sense to check out Companion: the first great January movie by far.
The film focuses on Iris (Sophie Thatcher) on a weekend getaway in the woods with her boyfriend, Josh (Jack Quaid). They meet up with some friends in a gorgeous lake house, partying the night away as they dance and drink to their delight. Things soon take a turn for the worse when the owner of the house, Sergei (Rupert Friend), is found dead, and one of them just might be a robot in disguise.
The story for this movie is exceptionally clever, with a premise so slick and unique that it felt pulled straight from the Twilight Zone. Like any great movie, it raises new questions with no real answer in sight and lets the audience come to their own conclusions. There are several major themes, such as violence in a relationship to the humanization of AI and how close it’s getting to replicating the human condition.
The cast was entertaining to watch, with Sophie Thatcher being the cream of the crop. She is truly becoming a rising talent in the horror genre, with her success from Heretic transferring well over here. Jack Quaid also was a lot of fun, usually making it unclear whether his character had good intentions. It was also fun to see Rupert Friend hamming it up as a Russian businessman, even if his character did not fit the tone the movie seemed to be going for.
Being a movie with a relatively small $10 million budget, I was impressed with how sleek the VFX blended in. There rarely was a need for it as most of it seemed to be shot on location, but the clever ways they made the robot glitch and adjust their settings were really brilliant. The way they blend the practical with the CGI here is extremely clever and never made me question whether what I watched was an effect.
Unlike a horror film like Smile 2, this movie knew well what to keep in focus and never flash its camera tricks. It knows when to remain still or linger too long to create that feeling of discomfort. The zoom-ins here were few and far between, only highlighting essential information to keep the audience on their toes. It never plays up anything for shock value, leaving that for the story to do instead.
Considering this came at the tail-end of January and did not have the best marketing, I was impressed with how this film turned out. It marks a new high point for movies of this caliber and shows Drew Hancock as a new talent to be on the lookout for. Playing into its clever premise with a fantastic performance from Sophie Thatcher, Companion is a refreshing horror film topped with topical themes and some grim humor.
Companion is now playing in theaters.
Rating: ★★★★ ½
