“Companion” is one of those solid thriller films which you can enjoy more if you do not know at all what it is about. Therefore, I will try to be very discreet about describing the story and character in this review, but I strongly recommend you not to read my review further if you want to be entertained by this little genre piece as much as possible.

At first, the movie focuses on the seemingly good romantic relationship between a pretty young woman named Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid). The opening scene shows her reminiscing about that almost perfect Meet Cute moment between them, but then we come to learn in advance that things will not go that well between them in the end.

Anyway, the very next scene showing Iris and Josh going to a certain remote place belonging to the rich Russian boyfriend of one of Josh’s friends. Although Iris does not feel comfortable about going there, Josh assures her that it will be a fun time for not only them but also a few others who will spend some time along with them, and Iris cannot possibly say no to Josh just because, well, she loves and cares about him as before.

After they eventually arrive at a big modern house located in the middle of that place, we are introduced to the four people waiting for them. Eli (Harvey Guillén) and his boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage) seem to be a loving couple, and we later get a flashback scene showing how they fell in love with each other after encountering each other by sheer coincidence. In case of Kat (Megan Suri), she has been having an affair with her rich Russian boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend), and she does not seem to mind that he is a married guy who can go back to his wife at any time.

Anyway, the mood soon becomes quite pleasant as these six people in the house enjoy their little drinking party together during the following evening, but then we come to sense something awkward as observing more of how Iris interacts with others. For example, when she has a supposedly friendly conversation with Kat at one point, you may notice some tension beneath their conversation, and you will probably come to wonder more about why Kat does not like Iris much as Iris said early in the story.

On the next morning, Iris goes to a nearby lake alone by herself just because Josh happens to suffer a lot of hangover because of drinking too much at last night. Not long after her arrival at the lake, someone else suddenly appears, and Iris feels quite nervous, because this figure seems ready to do something inappropriate to her while no one else is around them.

Now, for avoiding any possible spoiler, I really should be all the more discreet about what is actually happening around Iris. All I can tell you instead is the screenplay by director/writer Drew Hancock, who incidentally makes a feature film debut here after directing several short films and TV episodes, did a good job of setting the ground for a number of surprises to come along the plot, and the main pleasure of the movie is how the trouble with Iris becomes more complicated in one way or another after she belatedly comes to learn about the true nature of her relationship with Josh. 

Around the middle point of the story, it will probably remind you of a lot of several other certain genre films for good reasons I do not dare to reveal here, and you may have a pretty good idea about how it arrives at its expected ending. Nevertheless, Hancock’s screenplay deftly handles the story and characters with enough suspense and some sense of black humor, and it even shows a bit of poignancy from Partick and Eli, who turn out to be a bit more than your average token gay couple.

The movie also works as the showcase for its lead actress’ talent and presence, and Sophie Thatcher, who was wonderful as ably holding her own place well along with Chloe East in front of Hung Grant’s devious performance in “Heretic” (2024), demonstrates well here that she is indeed a talented newcomer to watch. Besides illustrating her character well with some subtle details during the early part of the film, Thatcher is also believable as her character is going through several changes as required by the plot, and her engaging performance supports well the movie even when it loses some of its narrative momentum later in the story.

Several other cast members of the film dutifully support Thatcher without overshadowing her at all. Jack Quaid, who is Dennis Quaid’s son and has steadily advanced since his small supporting role in “Logan Lucky” (2017), is effective as his character shows petty and nasty sides to Iris along the story. Megan Suri, Lukas Gage, and Harvey Guillén are also well-cast in their respective supporting parts, and Rupert Friend gleefully brings some hammy touches to his rather unpleasant character.

In conclusion, “Companion” does not bring anything particularly new to its specific genre territory, but it is still fairly enjoyable for its competent direction and Thatcher’s strong lead performance. Even though I already knew what the movie is about, I came to care about her character more than expected, and that is what a good film can do in my humble opinion.