FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/companion-review/ "Companion may not reinvent the wheel within its genre, but the way Drew Hancock takes a familiar concept and infuses it with a personal touch and technically impressive execution results in an incredibly captivating viewing - especially for those who manage to avoid the criminally revealing trailers. The blend of tones, the unsettling atmosphere, and the exploration of complex themes like abuse, love, and control elevate this horror flick beyond cheap jump scares, leaving a lasting emotional and narrative impact that lingers well past the credits. With a powerhouse performance from Sophie Thatcher anchoring it all, this psychological thriller - sprinkled with comedy, romance, and even sci-fi elements - stands out as one of the year's first big surprises. I highly recommend watching it in theaters, as blind as possible." Rating: B

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<em>'Companion'</em> is great! I was actually spoiled on the general gist of this due to the trailers, which I didn't even seek out but despite ignoring them pre-other flicks I still managed to catch what this was about. Happily, it didn't matter as the film lets the cat out fairly quickly. I thought the aforementioned was going to be an issue, even though it is only a 90 minute movie I didn't think at that moment that it was going to have enough in the tank to make the overall movie enjoyable. I was wrong! It's a blast all the way through, there's a pleasant pace to it all. Sophie Thatcher is brilliant, her showing is impressive and very convincing. That blood-soaked look is class. The rest of the cast aren't on Thatcher's level but are still positive parts of this film, namely Jack Quaid and Lukas Gage. Thanks to the short run time, this does fly by. Top film! I saw it on the big screen as part of a double bill of sorts with <em>'Hard Truths'</em>. This was the second one and it's a barrel of laughs compared to that Mike Leigh picture. Two films that I would highly recommend, all the same.

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We first meet "Iris" (Sophie Thatcher) and boyfriend "Josh" (Jack Quaid) as they take his self-drive car into the wilderness to meet with some of his friends at the home of millionaire "Sergey" (a delightfully over-the-top Rupert Friend). She's not at all keen on his pals. She thinks they look down on her. He tries to reassure her and when they arrive we are introduced to "Kat" (Megan Suri) and to loved-up "Eli" (Harvey Guillén) and "Patrick" (Lukas Gage). She was right, they don't much like her and at this point (for me, anyway) the penny started to drop. The married "Sergey" is supposed to be dating "Kat" but he's obviously a bit of a Lothario who tries it on with "Iris" and, well let's just say he probably wished he hadn't. Thing is, though, there's an whole load of manipulation going on here and it doesn't take "Iris", or us, long to realise that nothing is really as it seems. There's a fun chemistry on display here between Thatcher and Quaid and auteur Drew Hancock has crafted an entertaining scenario that avoids the standard cabin-in-the-woods style horror feature. This is a darkly comedic "careful what you've wished for" style of drama that has some decent menace intermingled with a few shades of Dan Stevens in "Cuckoo" from last year, too. For me, though, it's the dentally perfect Gage who steals the show proving the very point that true love isn't just skin deep and not everyone keeps their brains in their head! Amidst a tired and formulaic genre, this offers a refreshing change well worth a watch.

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