Companion (Drew Hancock, 2025)

Certain premises and tropes are just too much for genre filmmakers to leave alone for very long. Part of the joy of being a genre fan is watching new filmmakers bring their personal perspective to them. What fans like me hope for, is a filmmaker finding some way to bring something so new and refreshing to the material, it becomes part of the genre canon, a film that changes what comes after and remains a touchstone. What we hope we don't get is something boring, lacking in either storytelling or basic filmmaking skill. Companion splits the difference. It's not likely to become canon in horror or science fiction, but it is well written, and well made, with standout performances. Even if it doesn't manage to take the material to new heights or to do something so new it will expand its sub genre, it is entertaining and compelling.

Sophie Thatcher is having quite a run in the last few months. November saw the release of Heretic, which made a splash among horror fans, she has season three of Yellowjackets coming soon and this month saw the release of Companion, which is also drawing quite a bit of praise from critics and fans. Though Thatcher gets a few stand out scenes in Heretic, it was very much the Hugh Grant show. Companion is much more a showcase for her charisma and her ability to lead a film, and it should leave no doubt she has both, with plenty to spare. All of the casting on Yellowjackets has been excellent, but it's here that it's becomes clear why Thatcher is such a perfect match as a younger version of Juliette Lewis. There is an inherent authenticity to both actors performance style and screen presence which both makes them supremely believable, and without that, Companion becomes a much harder film to get on board with. Whatever that quality is, Thatcher is keenly aware of how to use it to get the audience to root for her. There are moments which could have tipped Iris into territory that would have felt repulsive in less capable hands, but Thatcher keeps them in territory which inspires sympathy instead. Talent alone doesn't make a film career last, but Thatcher certainly has that area covered, and it looks like she's got the work ethic too.

Jack Quaid (as Josh Beaman) is playing opposite Thatcher. Like Thatcher, there's a natural likability to Quaid, and this is the second time he's turned that easy going charm toward a role that, beyond the most surface level, is despicable in all to real and pathetic a way.

All of the cast is doing good work here. Harvey Guillén, Megan Suri, and Lukas Gage put in strong supporting performances as the circle of friends Josh is taking Iris to spend a weekend getaway with. Rupert Friend rounds out the cast, doing admirable if thankless work, as a wealthy Russian businessman, having an affair with Suri's character, and hosting this shindig.

There's some standout work in the costume department, by Vanessa Porter. This isn't a lavish costume epic, but Porter styles Iris in clothes calling back to a particular aesthetic, and it's unfortunate modern representation, that if taken too far would have been cartoonish, also avoiding being over the top in signaling a transition for the character. Iris state of mind is communicated through her clothes, and the state of them, throughout the film. It's a smart way to comment on Josh and Iris as characters, simultaneously, and probably isn't something the majority of audiences are going to pick up consciously.

Hancock, serving as write and director, isn't treading into new territory with this premise and its tropes, but he does still find ways to keep things interesting and fresh. We've seen versions of this story, and of Josh and Iris as characters, that are less interesting. Hancock complicates Josh in ways other films don't, without creating excuses for him, and keeping him firmly rooted in the world today, as Companion is set in a future that doesn't feel at all distant. He understands how to use this secluded setting to help create the mood and atmosphere as the story he's written progresses. It's not a flashy visual style, but works in its functionality all the same. Additionally, the choices in music are relevant to, and extensions of what the film is saying and doing. He handles both moments of shock, as well as comedic moments with an understanding of timing and camera placement that evince a solid grasp on giving both the opportunity to have the biggest impact, without his hand ever feeling present. Even though he's acting as both writer and director, this doesn't feel like the work of auteur, so much as someone dedicated to the story and themes.

On top of all this, Companion and Heretic are both films written directed by men, taking an exculpatory scalpel to aspects of masculinity that have to do with control, how those play out in relation to gender, and finding masculinity lacking. Neither is saying anything particularly revolutionary, but as was true of The Substance last year, if the message was getting through, it wouldn't be necessary to keep saying it, and though it may lack the punch of The Substance, Companion is still finding a way to mix comedy, horror and social commentary in a way that's satisfying and smart.