note: this is a film that if possible, you should go into fully blind. So if you have avoided trailers and the plot summary and plan on seeing this, my summarized review is you should.

Sometimes it’s ok to be clearly influenced by a half dozen other films!

“Companion” follows a young couple (Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher) who go to a remote lake house with friends, only for events to get out of hand when one is revealed to not be human. Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, and Rupert Friend also star, while Drew Hancock writes and directs.

The “humans will one day date robots” plot has been toyed with several times over the past decade (“Her”), as well as the idea of an AI being manipulating human emotion for personal gain (“Ex Machina”). Sometimes the whole thing can fall flat, but it’s also given us some of the more compelling movies of recent memory, and while “Companion” makes no attempt to rewrite the wheel, it does have fun with its premise and gives enough laughs and light scares to be a fun time at the movies.

Jack Quaid, outside of “Oppenheimer,” has seemed to typecast himself as the quiet, well-meaning boyfriend, whether it be “Scream,” “The Boys,” or “Plus One.” He makes no attempts to break free from those tropes here, as his Josh is nice and seemingly undemanding toward his girlfriend, Iris (Sophie Thatcher, who has quietly established herself as a bit of a scream queen following “Boogeyman” and “Heretic”). Thatcher is equally sweet and naive, questioning why one of the girls at the cabin would be with her boyfriend if he doesn’t love her (spoiler, it’s money). She gets to play with more emotion as the film goes on, and I look forward to seeing her career continue to develop. I also thought Harvey Guillén had some great reactions and faces as one of the friends.

The film isn’t so concerned about scares or big contemplative realizations about AI (in a way, thank God, because it’s getting old; maybe it’s just me but there is something a little condescending about the very people using and exploiting AI making products that warn us about its dangers). It does get to play around with some of the ideas of consciousness and how humans will take advantage of anything they can for their own selfish interests, but those are mostly just plot points and not social commentary.

Some of the film’s jokes and bits are clever, while others definitely seemed better on paper and are only rescued by the cast’s delivery. Hancock is able to stage some entertaining set pieces despite just two locations and a $10 million budget, but you can tell his ambitions are just touch out of reach of his means (still, it’s a great early directorial effort).

“Companion” is a fun, light horror film that doesn’t ask too much of its audience, so long as we return the favor to it. There are several laugh-out-loud moments and even when it looks like it may slip up, the charming and attractive cast pushes it across the finish line.

Critics Rating: 7/10