Drew Hancock
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The film’s consideration of the ethics of AI push it away from the aforementioned gendered thrillers and closer to the likes of Alex Garland’s excellent 2014 film Ex Machina.
…the robot seeking emancipation from the cruelty of humanity is a trope that pops up across film history, fairly recently in Spike Jonze’s Her, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina and even Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel…
Director Drew Hancock has taken the cult classic Ex Machina, the modern AI horror M3GAN, and through Thatcher’s Iris, has capitalised on the controversy and hype around artificial intelligence and its consequences.
From Her to Ex Machina to M3gan, the morality of creating these entities has been explored numerous times.
Ex Machina it ain’t, but between appealing actors fleshing out vibrant characters and plot developments that are fanciful without feeling forced, viewers will find themselves in good company.
By fusing elements of Ex-Machina, Black Mirror, and M3gan…
Pop culture reflects the infatuation: The Stepford Wives, Her, Ex Machina, Blade Runner 2049 – and now Companion…
The Stepford Wives, a cult classic about robotic women under men’s control, came out around this same time of winter 50 years ago. Companion pays homage to that film’s iconic images of housewives in a supermarket.
…this plays like a contemporary twist on “The Stepford Wives” (1975) and even opens with the protagonist pushing a shopping cart (the signature image of both the original film and the wonky, guilty pleasure 2004 remake).
…slipping in some knowingly appropriate film references (Ex-Machina, Stepford Wives, Westworld)…
It's trying to be a little bit of The Stepford Wives, Don't Worry Darling, and even M3GAN, all of which execute on their themes better than Companion.
…that opening scene is obviously meant to evoke The Stepford Wives…
Human-looking robots are a staple of sci-fi, like the original Westworld, Blade Runner, or The Terminator.
It might seem like Companion ambitiously overextends itself by balancing the complexity of interpersonal relationships and philosophical treatises from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982).
There are also some “Blade Runner” (1982) references since the robots have different levels of sentience depending on their person’s setting preference.
Freely drawing from inspirations like The Stepford Wives, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Blade Runner, and Ex Machina, the film is more interested in the questions raised by Iris’ existence than turning her into a killing machine.
While not on the level with “Blade Runner” (1982) or its sequel, “Companion” manages some visual and thematic references to “Hardware” (1990) and “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001).
…allusions to philosophical sci-fi treatises running the gamut from Blade Runner to Ex Machina…
…the robot seeking emancipation from the cruelty of humanity is a trope that pops up across film history, fairly recently in Spike Jonze’s Her…
From Her to Ex Machina to M3gan, the morality of creating these entities has been explored numerous times.
As technology advances at a dizzying pace, the futurism of Alex Garland’s Ex Machina (2014) and Spike Jonze’s Her (2013) edges closer to reality than ever before.
From a literal silicone life-sized real doll in Lars and the Real Girl (2007) to the disembodied intelligence of Her (2013), people have searched for a way to create friends, recreate family and even craft lovers.
For most of the film, he plays the character as if he’s the hero of Her and his artificial romance simply got messy.
…plays as if Spike Jonze’s Her were a slasher movie…
But unlike “Westworld,” which mined similar territory, it’s not a technology gone wild movie, it’s about how tech can be manipulated by humans to do their bidding.
…when Iris refuses to be just a ‘sock’, things go Westworld worng in a split second…
Companion can be grouped in with Westworld and Ex Machina and the Terminator franchise…
…slipping in some knowingly appropriate film references (Ex-Machina, Stepford Wives, Westworld)…
…the audience is keyed into anticipating a Westworld-like uprising at any moment…
Much like its producers’ predecessor Barbarian, Companion does well balancing its attempts at shock value with dark comedy at the expense of the oblivious upper class.
…compares favorably to two other thematically relevant films (both 2022) that played with genre conventions: Bodies Bodies Bodies (helmed by Babygirl writer-director Halina Reijn) and Barbarian (with which this new film shares producers). If Bodies Bodies Bodies was an attack on preconceived notions shaped by social media and Barbarian was a look at sexual abuse, Companion chooses as its rallying point the issue of identity politics…
Trailers and posters proclaim that Companion hails “from the creators of Barbarian,” but that’s misleading: Though it shares some of the same producers, Companion is actually the brainchild of first-time writer/director Drew Hancock. It’s fairer to say the two films are linked in spirit: Like Barbarian’s Zach Cregger, Hancock has a background in TV comedy, and it serves him well in a feature debut whose funny moments seamlessly mingle with the effectively unsettling and violent turns of a couples’ retreat gone lethally awry.
If you’ve seen ‘Barbarian,’ ‘M3GAN,’ or ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies,’ then you’re ready for this blood-soaked TikTok Twilight Zone.
…much like producer Zach Cregger’s wild “Barbarian,” consistently subverts expectations…
New Line Cinema—the studio that brought you “The Notebook”—and the unhinged creators of Barbarian cordially invite you to experience a new kind of love story…
“Companion” breathes the same air as shows like “Black Mirror” and “The Twilight Zone,” blending social commentary with genuine thrills and lots of dark humor.
By fusing elements of Ex-Machina, Black Mirror, and M3gan…
…plays like an R-rated episode of Black Mirror…
It doesn’t dwell on the ethics beyond the obvious abhorrence of the idea – don’t expect the depth of Black Mirror – but instead focuses on having fun.
Much of what has come down the assembly line has been throwaway entertainment (“M3GAN”, “Subservience”, etc.).
Interesante, pues, como recientemente pueden haber salido dos proyectos de corte similar como “Compañera perfecta” y “Subservience”, y como pueden haber tocado temas parecidos de forma tan distinta.
Naturally, when Iris reacts violently to Sergey’s inappropriate behaviour, audiences will be forgiven for anticipating something reminiscent of recent science-fiction thrillers such as M3GAN (2022) and Subservience (2024).
…unlike other recent thrillers about male power or weekend getaways going horrendously wrong (Promising Young Woman, Sissy, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Birdeater), Companion is a stealth science fiction movie…
…compares favorably to two other thematically relevant films (both 2022) that played with genre conventions: Bodies Bodies Bodies (helmed by Babygirl writer-director Halina Reijn) and Barbarian (with which this new film shares producers). If Bodies Bodies Bodies was an attack on preconceived notions shaped by social media and Barbarian was a look at sexual abuse, Companion chooses as its rallying point the issue of identity politics…
If you’ve seen ‘Barbarian,’ ‘M3GAN,’ or ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies,’ then you’re ready for this blood-soaked TikTok Twilight Zone.
…you have to go back a few decades to the earlier films of "The Terminator" & "The Matrix" franchises…
…this would make a great double feature with “The Matrix” (1999).
…before films like A.I. and especially Ex Machina said the quiet part out loud: humanity wants something lifelike it can happily exploit not only in the workforce but also in the bedroom.
“Companion” manages some visual and thematic references to “Hardware” (1990) and “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001).
Much like Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling (2022) and Zoë Kravitz’s Blink Twice (2024) and other social thrillers, Companion’s outlandish conceit unmistakably draws from Ira Levin’s novel The Stepford Wives.
The opening scenes of Companion evoke recent, twisty thrillers like Don’t Worry Darling and Blink Twice, with the implicit and ominous feeling of unseen manipulation at work. But Companion is ultimately the more satisfying film.
…the latest in a line of clever and wildly entertaining blood fests lot like Ready or Not (2019) and Abigail (2024)…
Recently I reviewed the 2024 thriller Abigail, noting that its core premise was one best left unknown when viewing the film for the first time. Here we are again with Companion, a 2025 thriller that essentially plays an identical trick.
Similar to what the creators of Abigail dealt with, writer/director Drew Hancock knew he couldn’t keep the first reveal hidden, using it instead as a springboard into sneaky surprises and clever twists.
While adorable, this scene is disconcerting to watch unfold, especially when Mimi Cave’s Fresh revealed to us the predators lurking in the grocery store.
If one thing should’ve been gleaned from Mimi Cave’s “Fresh,” it’s that the only pickups that go over well in a grocery store come in the form of produce, but clearly, Iris and Josh hadn’t gotten the memo.
To that end, “Companion,” much like last year’s equally flimsy “Strange Darling,” can never be called dull in its secluded thrills, even if their connecting tendons are seconds away from snapping.
It reminded me of Willa Fitzgerald’s turn in Strange Darling, with the same amount of dirt, viscera, and peril.
Incluso comparándola con sus pares del género como «It Follows», «Happy Death Day» o en menor medida la reciente «Heretic», de encanto algo similar.
(Of the two unfortunate Mormon missionaries of 2024’s Heretic, she’s the one who feels far more guarded.)
Thatcher, in her second horror role in two months (Heretic), makes for a fine mix of lovesick fawn and femme fatale.
Just know that Thatcher, who impressed as a Mormon missionary in last year’s “Heretic,” is given the freedom to showcase many sides of her talent.
Sophie Thatcher (Heretic, The Boogeyman)…
Sophie Thatcher (Heretic)…
From Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) to Gareth Edwards’ The Creator (2023), artificial intelligence and other innovations have remained an enduring topic in cinema.
“Companion” breathes the same air as shows like “Black Mirror” and “The Twilight Zone,” blending social commentary with genuine thrills and lots of dark humor.
With hints of grindhouse revenge movies like I Spit on Your Grave and The Last House on the Left, Thatcher is tasked with balancing the film’s tonal differences and convincingly displaying extreme levels of brutality.
While androids are fascinating, ambiguous beings – as we’ve seen from the Alien franchise and Ex Machina – it is the human protagonist that drives the heart of a tale.