Sophie Thatcher Is a Vengeful ‘Companion’ up Against a Pathetically Menacing Jack Quaid 

Alci Rengifo

The weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day are known for breezy romance movies. Maybe it is the way this generation is feeling, but now we are getting an offering like “Companion,” which opens with popping colors that allude to love before descending into bloody mayhem. This clever and comedic sci-fi horror is not so much about a companion as it is about our dominating fears and abuses of technology. For some bros, the ultimate fantasy is creating attractive robots to do with as they wish. Director Drew Hancock uses that starting premise for a directorial debut that announces him as a thriller director with definite style, elevating old tropes to satisfying, paranoid levels. Sophie Thatcher becomes the key component, giving empathy to a character caught in a diabolical web.

Deceptively, Hancock opens with the meet-cute of a rom-com. Iris (Thatcher) is buying groceries in a picturesque supermarket where she bumps into Josh (Jack Quaid). He trips over some oranges and sparks fly. Cut to the present as they drive to a getaway at an estate. Iris is a bit nervous about meeting Josh’s friends, worried they won’t like her. Everyone seems wacky and nice. There is Eli (Harvey Guillén) and his boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage). Josh’s ex, Kat (Megan Suri), is also here with farcically flashy Russian boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend). The serenity doesn’t last when Iris is assaulted, someone dies and she finds herself cornered by the group. Josh reveals the shocking truth: She is not human but a “sex bot.” Not only that, but there is a particular plan afoot which they need Iris for and so she runs.

“Companion” would like us to think it is a deeper film than what it truly is, which is mainly a wicked thriller that does have some kernels of thought. There is the continued ethical question of whether a robot should have the same rights to autonomy and dignity as a flesh and blood human being. Josh seems like the classic “nice guy,” but has a clear hatred towards women, playing the “woe is me” card of always getting his heart broken. Iris embodies his dream woman. She is attractive, programmed to do whatever he wants and he even has control over her intelligence level (the highest is 100 and he keeps her at around 40). Once she becomes self-aware, it is like the prisoner realizing they are in a cage. Hancock’s screenplay works best during these moments of sci-fi satire, when he uses the aesthetic of romantic movies with candy-colored cinematography by Eli Born. The design of the title sequence fools us into thinking this is some retread to a love story in pink hues.

This could have been an even better movie if it stuck to its satirical edge. When Iris runs off into the woods, “Companion” stays as a bloody romp attempting to imitate the kind of social thriller Jordan Peele has popularized. The dark gags and gore overtake the points being made by this story. Hancock stages moments of strong suspense involving Iris trying to get a futuristic car to start or eventual infighting between the conspiring friends. No shocker that their scheme involves stealing a lot of money from an unsuspecting victim. Stabbings, shootings and people getting run over are essentials pulled off with adequate, crowd-pleasing energy. Sophie Thatcher briefly becomes an efficient payback machine like Matilda Lutz in Coralie Fargeat’s “Revenge.” Jack Quaid, who has some of the range of dad Dennis, easily switches from pathetic to menacing. The overall cast enlivens the material, including Harvey Guillén of “What We Do in the Shadows” as the other member of the group dating a robot, Lukas Gage’s soft-spoken Patrick. 

The third act is where the gas starts to run out and “Companion” comfortably settles on the motions of big showdowns, complete with slow motion shots to the Turtles’ “You Showed Me.” It is engaging because we want to root for Iris as she figures out how to increase her intelligence and outsmart these dumb humans. Nobody has to find a romantic partner in this thriller, because almost everyone around is scum. Hancock admirably drops themes of self-respect into the cocktail, along with a few decent ideas about the nature of memory and how Iris’ recollections are probably not rooted in reality. “Companion” is a set of great ideas that promise more, but what this film delivers is still satisfying and the perfect anti-romance movie. 

“Companion” releases Jan. 31 in theaters nationwide.