Warranty void if tampered with.

Spending the weekend in the mountains with friends of her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid), Iris (Sophie Thatcher) awakens at the end of a long drive. She worries the group doesn’t like her, especially Kat (Megan Suri) who treats her as unimportant, although Josh offers assurances it’s just her imagination. Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage) only have eyes for each other, and their host Sergey (Rupert Friend) exudes creepiness at keeping Kat around as a willing mistress secret from his actual family. Events turn dire when Sergey attempts to rape Iris by the lakefront, claiming to her horror that Josh endorsed the encounter. For reasons she doesn’t understand, Iris aggressively defends herself, making use of the blade she mysteriously discovered in her pocket a minute earlier… and nothing will ever be the same.

Human-looking robots are a staple of sci-fi, like the original Westworld, Blade Runner, or The Terminator. Why build a Robby the Robot suit when you can glue a few wires and tubes onto a Star Trek actor and call them “The Borg?” While most often a cold emotionless thing (read: inhuman) to be feared, stories flirted with the exploitation of automation, especially when artificial intelligence might evolve to understand they have no rights other than to obey. Bicentennial Man along with television like “Humans” and HBO’s “Westworld” took it further… before films like A.I. and especially Ex Machina said the quiet part out loud: humanity wants something lifelike it can happily exploit not only in the workforce but also in the bedroom. It’s not enough such “toys” are created for intimacy; the sexbot is made to understand they are powerless, to know it can’t refuse. What does Companion offer to the conversation that hasn’t been said before?

This story initially appears to be about the technology itself but ultimately proves to be merely set within a world where such technology exists. Similar to what the creators of Abigail dealt with, writer/director Drew Hancock knew he couldn’t keep the first reveal hidden, using it instead as a springboard into sneaky surprises and clever twists. The narrative unfortunately lacks an adequate explanation as to why a companion’s programming includes a self-preservation mode but no such Isaac Asimov three-laws failsafe like in I, Robot. One no-name, non-bronze, no-prize for the lacking exposition might be the assumption this is self-explanatory, dodging narrative loopholes as to whether this has happened before. Cue Bishop from Aliens: “The A2s always were a bit twitchy; that could never happen now with our behavioral inhibitors.” After a few clever story distractions, the rest of the film works as clues and complications add up to confrontations. Because viewers will make the same assumptions any uninformed human might, the final reveals stick the landing, highlighting humanity existing in the face of technology like any good sci-fi flick should.

The cast was certainly game for the insanity of it, playing a host of morally gray characters who change allegiances as the plot progresses. While the main POV is with Iris, the film doesn’t limit itself with strict adherence, enabling a better story as the climax builds. Jack Quaid has been everywhere lately, whether fighting supers on “The Boys,” voicing the Man of Steel on “My Adventures with Superman,” or the title character in the upcoming action film Novacaine. Sophie Thatcher, on the other hand, is a certified scene stealer, showcasing her range from neurotic girlfriend to hapless victim to vengeful powerhouse ; her bait-and-switch role in Heretic, a sister stepping up in The Boogeyman, and television roles from “The Mandalorian” to “Yellowjackets” have made her career one to watch. Harvey Guillén and Lukas Gage are adorable whether being fussing or frisky, but the ensemble serves the narrative as needed. The ambiguous final shot reeks of an overused trope, possibly the happier alternate ending chosen over a more dire conclusion, but only the extras on the home release know for sure.

The most interesting bits of dialog is briefly between two technicians talking shop, an old professional and a young trainee. Anyone unclear about the underlying problems such app-enabled wonders might inform is highlighted here, and the individual reactions each worker has to what’s going on speaks volumes. While not as poignant as Alex Garland’s feature, Companion serves as a spiritual sequel to Ex Machina, where power is still fleeting.

Companion is rated R for strong violence, sexual content, language throughout, and the truth always coming out.

Three skull recommendation out of four