"The first time I fell in love... was a lie."
I just watched Companion—no trailer, just heard it was about robots and relationships. Best decision ever. What I got was this wild mix of Black Mirror and Ex Machina, but way funnier and more twisted than I expected.
The movie starts innocent enough. Iris shows up at her boyfriend Josh's lakehouse with his friends. She's pretty but something feels... off? Like she's trying way too hard to be the perfect girlfriend. The whole group dynamic is weird—especially between Iris and Kat, the only other woman there.
For the first chunk, I'm watching these awkward dinner scenes thinking maybe Iris is on drugs or brainwashed. She's just a little too eager to please, a little too stiff. Then this creepy Russian guy Sergey tries to assault her by the lake, she kills him in self-defense, and when she runs back covered in blood, Josh just says "Iris, go to sleep." Her eyes go white.
Holy shit. She's a robot.
Everything clicks. The weird behavior, the perfect girlfriend act, why everyone was acting strange around her. Josh rented her from some company called Empathix, and she's literally programmed to be his ideal woman.
But here's where it gets insane—Josh didn't rent her for companionship. He modded her to commit murder. His brilliant plan? Have Iris kill Sergey so he and Kat can steal $12 million from the guy's safe. It's the dumbest plan ever, and that's what makes it work. Josh is such a pathetic incel that he thinks he's a criminal mastermind but can't even read the damn manual.
Sophie Thatcher absolutely kills it as Iris. She nails that uncanny valley robot thing early on without going full I, Robot, then slowly becomes more human as she breaks free from her programming. When she boosts her intelligence to 100% and starts outsmarting everyone, it's so satisfying.
Jack Quaid deserves props for making Josh the most punchable "nice guy" incel I've ever seen on screen. Every whiny complaint about being friendzoned, every manipulation tactic—he nails it perfectly.
The comedy in this thing is gold. Iris copying Josh's voice to unlock his car, switching to German to get around her programming restrictions, the fake romantic montage with terrible green screen—I was cracking up. And don't get me started on the Boo Thang dance scene.
Then there's the Patrick twist. Turns out Eli's boyfriend is also a companion robot, but Eli actually loves him. When Josh resets Patrick and turns him violent, watching Patrick struggle with his fake memories versus real feelings hits hard. His suicide scene actually got to me.
The movie gets messy in the final act. Some logic gaps here and there—why would the Empathix techs help a clearly dangerous robot instead of just calling the cops? And Josh's plan is so stupid it's hard to believe anyone would go along with it. But when Iris finally gets her revenge with that electric corkscrew? Damnnn if it isn't satisfying.
The ending is perfect though. Iris driving away with the money, her burned robot hand exposed, waving at another companion who looks just like her. A silent "Join me."
My take?
Companion is way smarter than it pretends to be. It's a biting commentary on incel culture and toxic relationships wrapped in a fun sci-fi thriller. Sophie Thatcher is going to be a star, and this movie proves robots can be more human than the guys who program them.
It's not perfect—the plot has holes and some characters needed more development. But it's original, funny as hell, and has something to say about how we treat women (and AI).
Finally, a robot girlfriend with better boundaries than real ones.
Watch on Max