The promo materials for Companion state that the movie is “from the studio that brought you The Notebook and the creators of Barbarian.” That’s all you should know before going in.
For those who need a bit more, Companion is about a young woman named Iris (Sophie Thatcher from Heretic and Yellowjackets) who goes to a scenic cabin for a romantic getaway with her boyfriend, Josh (Scream’s Jack Quaid). A group of Josh’s friends, all paired up into couples, is there, too, and madness ensues.
And that is REALLY all you should know about the plot going in. Trust me. There are surprises at every turn of Companion, and they are best discovered organically through seeing the movie instead of hearing or reading about them beforehand.
What writer/director Drew Hancock, creator of television series My Dead Ex and Suburbatory, does with his feature film debut is not just genre-defying, it’s genre-bending. Companion goes from romantic comedy to sci-fi horror effortlessly, then sneaks back again before the viewer even knows where it’s been. Okay, so maybe it never goes back to FULL romantic comedy once it gets rolling, but rest assured – you’ve never seen anything like it. The concept itself may be a tad recycled, but the approach taken by Hancock is anything but.
So, what you’ve got with Companion is a sci-fi horror romantic dark comedy mystery teen movie. Or something like that. The broadly painted, stereotypical characters created by Hancock open up a world that’s unpredictable in its predictability. Every one of the archetypes acts out just as expected, but the results that are achieved are completely unexpected due to the fact that the movie’s plot is always one step ahead of the audience. Just when you think you’ve got Companion all figured out, it throws a wrench at you.
For her part, Sophie Thatcher gives an amazing performance as Iris. There are things she does that, if detailed here, will give away key plot points, so again, you’ll just have to trust me. Thatcher is able to capture and portray every single subtlety of her character, of which there are many. Every facial tick and vocal inflection, every uncomfortable bit of laughter or dramatic teardrop, it all means something and makes perfect sense in the context of the character.
Across from Thatcher is Jack Quaid, who is equally competent, even if his role isn’t quite as challenging. His Josh (because of course the character’s name is Josh) is the boyfriend who has one hand in Iris’ hand and the other in…well, other places. Quaid plays Josh with just the right amount of affection and suspicion to make the audience kind of trust him, at least until they’re given a reason not to. And since everyone at the cabin is more Josh’s friend than Iris’ friend, the whole setup is a recipe for chaos.
And there is chaos. And blood. This is where the “from the creators of Barbarian” part of the tagline comes in. There’s a darkness to Companion that, eventually, overshadows the starry-eyed infatuation of love that oozes over its prelude. The sense of impending doom is always there, it’s just a matter of who’s blood is going to be shed and who’s going to be causing that bloodshed.
Companion is an extremely difficult movie to review, simply because anything said about it probably says too much. Just know that it’s not what you think it is. There are twists and turns every minute, so just sit back, hold on, and enjoy the ride. And remember Drew Hancock’s name. This first feature will not be his last.
GRADE: A
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, language throughout, and strong violence
Release Date: January 31, 2025
Running Time: 1 hour 37 minutes
Studio: Warner Bros Pictures
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