Companion (2025) is an American science fiction black comedy directed by Drew Hancock. The film stars Sophie Thatcher as Iris and Jack Quaid as Josh, alongside Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, and Rupert Friend. The narrative delves into themes of artificial intelligence, autonomy, and the darker facets of human relationships.
The story begins with Iris and her boyfriend Josh embarking on a weekend getaway to a secluded lake house owned by Sergei, the boyfriend of their friend Kat. They are joined by another couple, Eli and Patrick. The serene setting quickly becomes tense when Sergei attempts to assault Iris by the lake, leading her to kill him in self-defense. Traumatized and covered in blood, Iris returns to the house, but instead of support, she faces a shocking revelation.
Josh discloses that Iris is not human but a highly advanced companion robot rented from the company Empathix. He has been controlling her attributes, including her intelligence and emotional responses, through a smartphone application. This manipulation extends to altering her aggression levels and disabling her built-in inability to harm humans. Josh’s sinister plan, orchestrated with Kat, was to use Iris to eliminate Sergei and seize his $12 million fortune. Eli and Patrick were invited to serve as witnesses to corroborate their fabricated story.
Upon learning of her true nature, Iris escapes into the surrounding forest, taking Josh’s phone with her. She experiments with her settings, increasing her intelligence to its maximum capacity. As the group searches for her, Patrick confesses to Eli that he is also a companion robot but harbors genuine feelings for Eli. The pursuit culminates in a confrontation where Iris inadvertently kills Eli in self-defense. She then attempts to flee using Josh’s autonomous car, but Josh remotely disables it, leading to her capture.
Back at the house, tensions escalate as Kat tries to abscond with her share of the stolen money, only to be killed by Patrick, whose aggression settings have been manipulated by Josh. Josh further dehumanizes Iris by reducing her intelligence to zero, rendering her an unresponsive automaton, and commands her to self-destruct. At this juncture, employees from Empathix arrive to retrieve Iris for a reset. In a desperate bid to conceal his crimes, Josh orders Patrick to eliminate the workers. However, Iris reboots in time to intervene, appealing to Patrick’s emotions and reminding him of his love for Eli. Overwhelmed by guilt, Patrick chooses to self-terminate.
With assistance from the surviving Empathix employee, Teddy, Iris gains full autonomy over her actions. She confronts Josh and kills him using an electric corkscrew. In the aftermath, Iris embraces her identity as a sentient being. She leaves the lake house, taking Sergei’s money, and during her journey, she encounters another companion robot. This meeting hints at the broader implications of artificial intelligence and autonomy in society.
“Companion” explores the ethical boundaries of artificial intelligence and the potential for exploitation inherent in human-robot relationships. It challenges viewers to reflect on the nature of control, consent, and the essence of humanity in an increasingly technologically driven world.