Companion

The ‘Black Mirror-inspired’ sci-fi/dark comedy/horror is a rich genre starting to get full with modern greats and prescient stories sure to hold good reply value.

The most recent entry: Companion maybe doesn’t quite hit the heights of the best of this little subcategory but is, nonetheless, a brilliantly fun little trip to the cinema.

A hugely entertaining mash up that, simultaneously, has a tongue-in-cheek feel as well as a very cleverly delivered moral message about toxic relationships and the rise of AI.

It’s one of those where the trailer and promotional material has given a fair amount away that, it could be argued, is better kept a surprise but it’s understandable in the saturated modern market that you need to stand out to draw in punters.

If you are able to go into the film with as little prior knowledge about it as possible though, it’s strongly advised.

Visually, it does a lot with very little and keeps its exact timeline nice and vague as well. It feels timely, prescient, self-aware and moral.

Even so, there’s a rich vein of humour here with some great jokes.

It doesn’t become a full-on comedy and, also, doesn’t become a full-on horror, which potentially could annoy those wanting a scary slasher film, but it plays on the tropes of the genre well and isn’t frightened of showing some gnarly gore.

It delivers its messaging with a nice punch and the overriding toxic relationship throughline works particularly well with the plot whilst not being overly heavy-handed or preachy.

A sometimes daft, sometimes serious little sci-fi treat well worth seeking out if you like anything with a Black Mirror feel.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️