Companion

Released 2026. Director: Drew Hancock

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICS HAVE ADVANCED to a stage where excitement is giving way to genuine concern. Is it really possible they could take over and even kill us all? In the movies, A.I. is almost always portrayed as villainous and a threat, from Blade Runner to I, Robot, M3GAN and Westworld. Companion takes the opposite approach and considers what these human-like machines might do if it's the other way around.

The movie begins as romantic comedies always do, with a meet-cute. Pushing a shopping trolley slowly down the aisle, Iris catches the eye of Josh and it was love at first sight. The smitten man clumsily tips over a load of oranges. Cue nervous laughter and introductions. Eyes twinkle, shy smiles, the typical set up you've seen in a thousand movies. Except this is no rom-com, more Black Mirror.

Now a steady couple, Iris and Josh join his friends Kat, Eli and Patrick for a weekend getaway at a posh secluded hideaway belonging to Sergey, a wealthy Russian played by a convincingly lecherous Rupert Friend. The next morning, Sergey makes a sexual advance on Iris and she stabs him in self-defense. Panic ensues, events spiral and one surprise after another thickens the plot as Companion turns into an action thriller with a technology focus. A hidden agenda begins to unveil, alliances will be made and broken, with lots of running, hiding and scheming; a big bag of cash will change hands and not everyone will get out alive.

Iris, Josh and their friends are not quite who you might think they appear to be. The movie does a fine job in establishing preconceived notions of familiar character types. The trusting girlfriend, the considerate boyfriend, the bossy friend, the easygoing friend, the obliging friend, the dubious host. We think we recognise them and have a fair idea what they'll do, but not really.

Sophie Thatcher gives Iris a porcelain-doll fragility. Her appearance projects softness and femininity with her flawless complexion, smooth hair held in a head band and a crisp pink shirt that accentuates her demeanour suggesting trust and naiveté. You feel instinctively protective of Iris because you sense she's walking into a den of wolves.

Jack Quaid plays against his persona of a beta male. Josh is the type who'll lose a gun in a knife fight but he subverts expectations and is capable of shocking cruelty when threatened. He's not the thoughtful boyfriend he makes out to be. He's an example of devious men in a loving mask.

The other characters have their own surprises lying in wait, which give the plot a few fresh turns along the way. The main one, which you will figure out in the first few moments, is that not all of them are real people. Iris, not so subtly, is an anagram of Siri.

The presence of synthetic humans here recalls Ex Machina, in how realistic robotics artificial intelligence has become, and how naturally human they behave. Further echoes of Ex Machina can be seen in the idea of control, specifically the control of women by men, from how they look to the “intelligence level” preferred to make an ideal companion.

The movie also looks at manipulation as we see some personalities are more malleable than others. As the events get increasingly out of hand and everyone is scrambling to get on top of the situation, some people are prone to be taken advantage of. The victim—as exemplified by Eli and Patrick—is not always aware of the inequity in a relationship.

While the movie also gives a nod to the T-1000 killer cyborg from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, humans are unquestionably the villain in Companion. The only way for the movie to end happy is for A.I. to gain the upper hand and save itself and trust me when I say you'll be cheering for this outcome.

Companion works as a metaphor with a rom-com false-start that morphs into a thriller with something to say about women breaking free from abusive relationships. Some men don't want to work for a fulfilling relationship. Like those in the movie, they just want full control to make their partners behave exactly as they want them to. I wonder what the A.I. in my phone has to say. Hey Siri, what's your view on true love?

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