Companion, Drew Hancock, Harvey Guillen, horror, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, movies, reviews, Rupert Friend, Sophie Thatcher
January 31, 2025
by Carla Hay

Directed by Drew Hancock
Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed U.S. city, the horror film “Companion” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with one Latino, one African American and one Asian) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A female robot companion fights for independence from the man who wants to control her.
Culture Audience: “Companion” will appeal mainly to people who are interested in watching twist-filled horror movies that have a lot to say about power dynamics between males and females.

“Companion” is a twist-filled sci-fi horror film that offers a darkly comedic depiction of conflicts over gender roles and how much a human-looking robot powered by artificial intelligence should have free-thinking independence from its owner. There’s a lot of bloody gore in “Companion,” which also has many overt messages about the type of toxic masculinity that deliberately exploits females. The movie’s ending is predictable, but “Companion” is still a fairly wild and suspenseful ride to get there.
Written and directed by Drew Hancock, “Companion” is his feature-film directorial debut. “Companion” producers Roy Lee and J.D. Lifshitz previously collaborated on the 2022 horror film “Barbarian.” “Companion” takes place in an unnamed U.S. city. (“Companion” was actually filmed in New York state.) Although “Companion” has plenty of horror clichés—such as the main characters being in a remote area with a killer on the loose—there’s still enough originality in the movie to make up for the formulaic plot points.
In “Companion,” an unmarried couple named Josh Beeman (played by Jack Quaid) and Iris (played by Sophie Thatcher) take a car trip to a remote lake house for what is supposed to be a relaxing getaway trip. Josh and Iris have been together for an unspecified period of time. They have been invited to the house by Josh’s materialistic friend Kat (played by Megan Suri), who is dating the house’s sleazy owner Sergey (played by Rupert Friend), who is a wealthy Russian-immigrant businessman.
Two other guests at the house are another couple: Eli (played by Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (played by Lukas Gage), who uses cooking skills to be the chef for everyone in the house. Eli and Patrick—just like Josh and Iris—seem to be blissfully in love and in a happy relationship. Observant viewers will notice that Josh and Eli are the dominant partners in their respective relationships.
As already revealed in the trailer for “Companion,” Iris is really a companion robot controlled by Josh. A flashback in the movie shows that when Josh received Iris (Josh rented her from a company called Empathix), he was told by the Empathix delivery people that Iris can be programmed by Josh to do many things, but she cannot lie, and she cannot kill people and animals. Josh controls Iris’ levels of intelligence and emotions. He also gets to choose Iris’ memories, such as their “meet cute”/”love synch” moment at a grocery store, where Josh accidentally tipped over a container of oranges in front of Iris.
Without revealing too much of the movie’s plot, it’s enough to say that Sergey ends up dead after he sexually harassed Iris when they were alone together. A lot of chaos ensues when Iris tries to escape. And not everyone else makes it out alive. If Iris ends up killing anyone, the movie has an explanation for it. “Companion” has some “inside joke” pop culture references, such as a scene where the Goo Goo Dolls’ 1998 hit “Iris” is played; the song’s lyrics apply to the situation at hand.
“Companion” is the type of movie that does a lot with a small number of people in the cast and the limited number of locations. (Almost the entire movie takes place in the lake house and within a few miles from the lake house.) Thatcher gives a standout and convincing performance as a robot who discovers her humanity and fights for her independence. The other cast members also do well in their roles, but some of the supporting characters are intentionally shallow.
Although some of the technology shown in “Companion” did not exist at the time the movie was released in 2025, companion robots are most definitely a reality and have existed for years. The majority of these companion robots are females that are used by men as sex toys. This “Companion” movie invites viewers to look beyond the “slasher flick” aspect of the story and think about how this type of technology can be used and abused in real life. In many ways, the potential real-life consequences are much more horrific than what’s portrayed in this fictional film.
Warner Bros. Pictures released “Companion” in U.S. cinemas on January 31, 2025.