Companion

Companion
Starring Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri
Directed by Drew Hancock

Horror comedies have to balance a fine line, otherwise it'll be either too horrific to be funny, or too funny to be horrific. It's difficult to maintain such a tightrope walk, but "Companion" is one of those films that pulls it off like Philippe Petit, offering viewers some truly horrific moments that are both gory and also deeply personal hell, as well as supplying laugh-out-loud moments that feel organic to the script. This is one of those movies as well where you should go in as blind as possible, and only see this trailer above as opposed to the second one that gives away the film's major twist which, I guess (although I saw the other trailer so I knew what was coming), was pretty well articulated from the start, but I honestly wouldn't know because I already knew the twist beforehand.

Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) are heading to a remote cabin to spend time with Jack's friends including the cabin's owner Sergey (Rupert Friend), his girlfriend and Josh's close friend Kat (Megan Suri), along with jovial flamboyant Eli (Harvey Guillen) and his chef boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage). Iris is worried that his friends don't like her, but things go from bad to worse when she kills a man in self-defense, launching a series of events that spirals out of control.

Back in 2022, director Zach Cregger directed a small horror film called "Barbarian" that was destined to be a direct-to-streaming film, but due to positive test screenings the movie got a major theatrical release, and grossed over $45 million dollars worldwide. The success of this small film opened the door for Cregger to not only gain the "Resident Evil" franchise, but also allowed him to serve as producer for "Companion," which in all honesty probably wouldn't have existed without his creative presence. Thankfully the stars aligned in such a way that we were gifted with not just "Barbarian," but "Companion" as well, as both serve as excellent horror/comedies with unique twists that come out of left field.

The film is a deep dive into the topic of male masculinity, as Josh holds almost entire control over Iris's every thought and action, as she is wholly devoted to him to the point where she can't even lie. Josh is in total control, and abuses this control under the guise of love, but in reality he's completely insecure about his own identity and feels by having control over someone else it gives him a better sense of self. It asks the question as to whether or not Josh actually loves Iris, or just uses her for his advantage. It's fascinating to see through the aspects of horror and comedy that this very real fear can permeate through it all.

The performances across the board are perfect, with Jack Quaid falling on his typical aloof nerdy guy persona that transforms into a diabolical merciless killer in a way that feels organic to the role, and Sophie Thatcher continues to rise the ranks of modern day scream queens along with the likes of Mia Goth, Lauren LaVera and Melissa Barrera to name a few. At first Iris is wholly devoted to Josh, but as her eyes are opened to his treachery, she turns the tables and seeks revenge, but also provides comedy of her own (most notably when she's running through the woods and runs through different scenarios of escape that all lead to death).

"Companion" is a movie that is extremely well done in pretty much every aspect, and one of those rare gems that needs to be seen as blind as possible to attain the full experience.

The Score: A+