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Even unnecessary spoilers can’t ruin the fun in ‘Companion’

TYLER WILSON/Coeur Voice contributor | Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 1 month, 2 weeks AGO
by TYLER WILSON/Coeur Voice contributor
| February 8, 2025 1:00 AM

The trailers for the thriller “Companion” reveal a twist that I wish I didn’t know before seeing the film.

Even if you Google the name of the movie or accidentally linger on an ad for the film on social media, chances are you’ll know more about the premise than the movie itself wants to keep a secret in its opening act.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to reveal the twist here. If by some rare chance you stumble into the theater, I’ll be as vague as possible.

All you really need to know is that Sophie Thatcher — star of the acclaimed series “Yellowjackets” as well as a memorable breakout from the Hugh Grant horror film “Heretic” last year — plays Iris, a pensive young woman on a weekend getaway with her boyfriend, Josh (Jack Quaid, “The Boys”), to a fancy home deep in the middle of nowhere. She’s nervous about making a positive impression on Josh’s friends, which curiously includes an older man with possible ties to the Russian mob (Rupert Friend).

Something goes horribly wrong, and Iris is suddenly forced into survival mode. Can she truly trust her boyfriend? Can she trust herself? That just about takes us to the twist that shall not be mentioned.

Written and directed by Drew Hancock and produced by the team that made the horror breakout “Barbarian” from 2022, “Companion” is a similar-in-tone thriller that uses its twists to explore power dynamics in romantic relationships. Violence and comedic beats tiptoe against each other, and Thatcher’s committed, empathetic performance helps to keep the freewheeling tonal shifts in check. The entire premise rides on the believability of Thatcher’s performance, and it’s the main reason for (attempting) to keep the twists unspoiled.

Even if you do know the central premise (particularly after seeing the trailers), “Companion” still offers twisted fun and few novel surprises absent from the marketing.

The film netted about $10 million in its opening weekend at the box office against a reported budget of about $10 million. The movie will turn a profit, but it likely would have anyway without revealing the twist in the marketing. “Companion” is well-reviewed and within one of the few genres (horror) that still manages to attract a core theatrical audience. Not every movie needs to be marketed like “Psycho,” but everyone deserves a fun surprise every now and then.

•••

Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.


    This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows, from left, Lukas Gage, Harvey Guillen and Jack Quaid in a scene from "Companion."
 
 


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