Companion (2025) Dir: Drew Hancock

Instagram post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DQmM2jljcKt/?igsh=MTNwM2tleDhxbGJnbA==

If someone had asked me at the beginning of the year what my top five most anticipated releases of 2025 were, this science fiction horror comedy, from director Drew Hancock, would have featured quite prominently. It looked like it would be a bundle of fun, although I found it quite frustrating that the trailer seemed to reveal far too much of its plot, which is far too common an occurance with film trailers these days. Unfortunately, I ended up missing rhe theatrical run of the film, but I was, at last, able to watch it online, and my excitement was most assuredly still present.

Although neither the soundtrack or most of the cinematography didn't impress me too much, I did absolutely love the wardrobe for Sophie Thatcher's character. Not only did it look good, but some of it seemed to very cleverly emphasise some of the themes of the film, something I noticed and appreciated a lot. To that end, I really liked the messaging of the film, which criticised and mocked a lot of misogynistic, outdated, and straight-up laughable societal practices and norms, usually adopted and peddled by cis-men.

The narrative was fairly simple on the surface, but managed to weave in some surprisingly emotional and relevant thematic material, which made it so much more than just a goofy revenge film. It wasn't too long either, which allowed it to stay punchy and engrossing. I really enjoyed some of the twists and turns that the story took, and, thankfully, it wasn't just the one big reveal that the trailers all spoiled so carelessly before the film had even come out.

Sophie Thatcher put in an incredible performance in her leading role - something I felt would be the case, considering the popularity of the film, and her performance in 2024's 'Heretic'. Her facial expressions were genuienly phenomenal at times, which helped to make the more emotional scenes even more impactful, allowing them to hit deep, where the comedy could have disarmed or dampened them.

Jack Quaid isn't necessarily the best actor out there, but he's pretty good at what he does, and this was another example of him doing just that. He has a knack for comedy, and happily he was able to exhibit that on a few occasions in the film. He didn't come close to Thatcher's level, albeit very few could have, but this was a very decent showing from Quaid. Other names worth mentioning, for their entertaining set of performances, were; Harvey Guillén, Rupert Friend, Lukas Gage, and Megan Suri.

Overall, I wasn't expecting this to be such a great piece of feminist cinema, but I'm so glad it was. I absolutely loved the film, particularly the acting of the very talented Sophie Thatcher in the lead role. Horror filmmakers have been on a role in the last few years, and this has been one of the best of the bunch. It never took itself too seriously, but still managed to hit some very important points that both educated it's audience and built up the story in a concise and relevant way.