Release Date – 31st January 2025, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 37 minutes, Director – Drew Hancock
After a self-defensive murder, Iris (Sophie Thatcher) uncovers multiple secrets about herself and those she was spending the weekend with, whilst fleeing them in the surrounding woods.
One of the joys of Companion is the sudden twist which properly kicks everything off early in the run-time. While the teaser trailer did exactly what it should do and didn’t given anything away, the main trailer, and some reviews, give this detail away upfront. It’s a shame, as the moment in question brings in a lot of the mystery and ideas that the film subsequently plays with in entertaining fashion.
Iris (Sophie Thatcher) is spending the weekend at a lavish, isolated lakeside home, spending time with her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) and his friends, who she thinks don’t like her. However, after being sexually assaulted and attacked by house owner, Russian millionaire Sergey (Rupert Friend, in an enjoyable brief and knowingly hammy role) Iris kills him in self-defence. Subsequently tied up and bound to a chair whilst those left alive wait for the police to arrive she quickly escapes and while strands about control play out the following few hours see her on the run an uncovering secrets about both her own life and those chasing after her.
While having billed as a horror Companion plays out as more of a dark comedy with thriller-like edges. There are plenty of laughs to be found throughout as the threat at hand is diminished by the various arguments unfolding between Josh and friend Kat (Megan Suri) – who may have their own plans together – and couple Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage). There’s also a good deal to enjoy about Iris’ own adventure, with both a good deal of laughs and moments which simply bring about a knowing smile of anticipation as she learns more about herself and pushing herself out into the world around her – even if it is largely woodland surrounding the house and nearby lake.
As things move along with consistently fast pace, all contained in a short, well-handled 97-minute run-time, there’s a lot to enjoy. Largely from the overall tone of the piece but also the darkly comic laughs which come through more consistently the more the film goes on. Even in the closing stages the moments of splatter and bordering-on-18-rated gore allow have their own entertainment factor which works well alongside the suspense. Lines of dialogue around control might feel a little bit on-the-nose and as if they think the film has been making a grander point about this than it actually has, but it does make for a welcome smile for the details and nature of the closing shot. Perhaps, though, what makes it most worthwhile is the simple enjoyment there is to be found from the preceding hour-and-a-half. Both the humour and the occasional gore all held in a tightly and well-told thriller.
A tight and effective thriller with plenty of dark comedy held throughout, Companion is best seen knowing as little as possible. From there the mystery develops in entertaining fashion with likable humour and splatter for consistent enjoyment in the fast-flowing, not to mention short, run-time.
Just A Little Bit Random 