Lukas Gage Archives - Sean Kelly On Movies

A weekend getaway turns to chaos in Companion. Josh (Jack Quaid) and his girlfriend Iris (Sophie Thatcher) drive up for weekend at the cabin of Kat (Megan Suri) and her rich Russian boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend), where they are also joined by their friend Eli (Harvey Guillén) and his boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage). The weekend turns to chaos when Iris appears all bloody, having committed a murder in self-defense. However, it turns out that Iris is in fact a companion robot controlled by Josh via his phone. Josh hacked Iris' safeguards, so she would murder Sergey, so Josh and Kat could steal $12 million. When Iris finds this out, she tries to find a way to escape. Companion Synopsis Companion is a darkly comic sci-fi thriller produced by Zach Cregger (Barbarian) and is the debut feature film from writer/director Drew Hancock. The film stars Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets, Heretic, The Boogeyman) and Jack Quaid (The Boys, Scream) as the new couple Iris and Josh. While not hidden by the marketing of the film, the nature of Iris and Josh's relationship can constitute a SPOILER, so consider this a warning before continuing with this review. The opening act of Companion is structured in such as way that Iris and Josh are just a normal couple who met in a supermarket. However, after Iris stabs Sergey, playing by a cameoing Rupert Friend, after he tries for force himself on her, it is revealed that not only is Iris a robot, but that Josh hacked her system to remove her anti-harm safeguards. Josh's motive was to make it appear like Iris went haywire, but Iris soon escapes and she tries to make it to safety. My Thoughts on Companion For my non-spoiler thoughts on Companion, I will say that while the film doesn't do anything new, the film ends up to be an interesting twist on this type of premise. Sophie Thatcher does a great job of portraying the multiple layers of Iris, while Jack Quaid has proven himself quite skilled at playing charming characters, who turn out to be anything but. Once again, I warn that the rest of the review will contain SPOILERS. The plot of Companion references previous sentient A.I. films, ranging from Blade Runner to Ex Machina. One element that Companion borrows from Blade Runner is the fact that Iris is unaware that she is a robot. It is for this reason that it is somewhat disappointing that a greater effort wasn't made to hide this fact, since it would make the moment where Josh places a panicking Iris into sleep mode all the more shocking. Companion also foreshadows relatively early that Josh is the true villain of the film. This flips the typical premise of malfunctioning A.I. on its side, while also providing some commentary about toxic masculinity. In fact, Josh's treatment of Iris in he final act of Companion is more evil than any malfunctioning robot. While, the bulk of Companion remains isolated in the single location, the film does drop hints at some sequel possibilities. A seemingly throwaway line reveals that Josh wasn't the only one hacking companion robots for nefarious means. As such, I wouldn't mind seeing a follow-up that builds on that. Altogether, Companion might not have the most original premise, but writer/director Drew Hancock provided an enjoyable twist on it.

Lukas Gage

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