COMPANION : Tuesday 4th February 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'COMPANION' at my local multiplex this week, and this American science fiction thriller film is Written and Directed by Drew Hancock in his feature film making debut. The film was released Stateside on 31st January, has so far grossed US$22M from a production budget of US$10M and has received positive critical reviews. 

The film opens with a young woman pushing a shopping trolley down the aisles of a grocery store. There she sets eyes on a young man and there is an instant attraction. They introduce themselves as Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid). Sometime later, they drive to an isolated lakehouse to meet friends Kat (Megan Suri), couple Eli (Harvey Guillen) and Patrick (Lukas Gage), and Sergey (Rupert Friend), Kat's boyfriend who owns the house and the acreage that surrounds the lake. The group settle in, eat dinner together and dance the night away. 

The next day, Iris is down at the lakeside and along saunters Sergey, who attempts to rape Iris, allegedly at Kat's suggestion. He refuses to stop, and she kills him in self-defence, by plunging a knife into his neck. Soaked in Sergey's blood and panic stricken, she returns to the house to explain. Josh uses the command, 'Iris, go to sleep', so powering her down.

Iris is awakened and bound to a chair. Josh informs Iris that she's a 'companion' robot who can be controlled by an app on his mobile phone. He leaves the room to talk with Kat. While away, Iris breaks free, steals Josh's phone and flees into a nearby forest. She reviews her settings first toying with the colour of her eyes, then the tone of her voice and finally increasing her intelligence levels from 40% to 100%. It's revealed Josh 'jailbroke' Iris, increasing aggression levels and disabling her inability to do harm. He and Kat planned for Iris to kill Sergey to steal US$12M in cash that he has stashed in a safe. Eli and Patrick were invited to corroborate their story if necessary. Josh and Kat insist Patrick's not entitled to money because he 'doesn't count', revealing Patrick to be a 'companion' also. Eli takes a gun from Sergey's safe, believing Iris can't truly be shut down while possessing Josh's phone. They search the forest for her with Josh and Kat.

In a quiet moment in the forest Patrick admits to Eli that he knows he's a robot, but loves him regardless. They hear Josh's phone buzzing nearby and spot Iris hiding behind a tree. She flees, Eli takes a shot at her and misses, but quickly catches up and tackles her as they tumble downhill. The gun is knocked away in the scuffle, and while wrestling for control of it, Iris shoots Eli dead. She returns to the house, attempting to escape in Josh's self-driving car, using the voice control on Josh's phone to emulate his voice to command the car to 'drive home'. Josh uses Sergey's phone, reporting the car stolen. The car comes to a halt a short time later by the side of the road, locking her in. Josh resets Patrick to be his 'companion,' applies the same jailbreaking mod(ification)s, and commands him to find and return Iris to him.

Iris kicks out the car's window to flee on foot, but is stopped by a randomly passing Police Patrol Car. Police Officer Hendrix (Marc Menchaca) questions Iris who has switched her language settings to German in order to deter him as companions are unable to lie, but he then sees the bloodied knife in the car. About to apprehend Iris, Patrick appears and beats Hendrix to death, then disables Iris using Sergey's phone. She falls unconscious, and is brought back to the lakehouse. Kat, disgusted by Josh's actions, tries leaving with her share of the US$12M. Josh orders Patrick to stop her, and so he stabs her in the back with a kitchen knife. She stumbles to the sofa where she bleeds out.

Later that night, Patrick cooks dinner for Josh. Empathix (the company that owns and markets the companions) calls. Josh answers, making his conversation sound as though he is in fear of Iris, wanting her removed from his life. Iris, handcuffed to a chair at the other end of the table, waits. Josh carries on about how little he has in life, with Iris responding and belittling him. He retaliates, decreasing her intelligence down to 0%, turning her into an automaton. He commands she raise her arm and then lower her hand holding it over a burning candle, refusing to let her remove it even as her arm catches fire, then commands she shoot herself in the head. Empathix workers Sid (Matt McCarthy) and Teddy (Jaboukie Young-White) arrive. Josh concocts a story about her malfunctioning, shooting herself out of emotional turmoil and so wiping her memories. They inform Josh that video isn't stored in the head like a brain, and is instead in the stomach area. They leave with Iris on a stretcher. Josh commands Patrick kill them and retrieve Iris. Patrick kills Sid, but Teddy flees, trips and falls as Patrick catches up. Before he can kill Teddy, Iris fully reboots, pleading Patrick to spare him, appealing to his better judgement and reminding him of his love for Eli. He struggles to hold back due to the aggression mod. Overcome with despair over his lack of true humanity, Patrick commits suicide by placing an electric cattle prod in his mouth and turning it on. Teddy grants Iris full control of herself.

Iris returns to the house one last time, confronting Josh. The pair get into a physical fight with Josh seemingly gaining the upper hand. As Josh is straddling Iris, she reaches for an electric corkscrew and instructs Josh 'go to sleep,' while stabbing him in the temple with the corkscrew ejecting bits of skull and brain like a cork, killing him. The next morning, she peels the burnt 'skin' off her arm while showering blood and dirt from the prior day away, exposing the metal skeleton underneath. She packs clothes and Sergey's US$12M in cash, leaving in a convertible vintage sports car. While driving away, she sees another man driving with a bot that looks exactly like her except for the styling of hair and makeup. Iris smiles and waves her robotic hand to the latter's confusion, having recognised their near identical appearance. 

'Companion' is a science fiction horror thriller romantic drama with enough dark humour thrown into the mix to satisfy the most discerning viewer. Sophie Thatcher is a revelation in her performance as the robotic AI femme fatale with the other cast members all doing their fair share of the heavy lifting in supporting roles. First time feature Director Drew Hancock has delivered us a film that is an allegory on relationships, control, coercion, greed, the evil that men can do and ultimately survival, and on this basis the film succeeds handsomely, and you will be entertained for all of its brisk 97 minute run time.

'Companion' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

HERETIC : Tuesday 3rd December 2024

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'HERETIC' this week, and this American psychological horror film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods who jointly created the story for and Co-Wrote the post-apocalyptic horror film 'A Quiet Place' in 2018, and Wrote and Directed the 2015 supernatural thriller 'Nightlight', the 2019 slasher film 'Haunt', and the 2023 science fiction action thriller '65'. This film saw its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September, was released in the US earlier this month, has received positive reviews from critics and has grossed US$38M so far, from a production budget of less that US$10M.

Here then, two young missionaries Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) from the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, are on a mission to recruit new members into their church. Somewhere in small town America the two very properly dressed young women go about the business riding their bikes from house to house and knocking on doors. Eventually as the day draws to a close and the weather starts to close in with the heavens opening to thundering rain, they arrive at the home of a reclusive man, Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant). 

He invites them in, assuring them that his wife is preparing a blueberry pie in the kitchen out the back. After breaking the ice and engaging in some small talk, they begin to discuss religion, with Reed making several uncomfortable comments about their Mormon faith and the nature of belief. When Reed steps out of the room, Barnes realises that the smell of blueberry pie is from a candle. The women decide it is time to leave, but Reed has taken their coats and in the pocket of one of the coats is the key to the bicycle lock that they chained their bikes to up at the front gate of the house. The front door is locked, and they also have no phone signal, because of the metal cladding in the roof and the walls of the house which Reed alluded to when they first arrived.

They reluctantly follow Reed to his study, and plead with him to allow them to leave. He gives them a threatening lecture arguing that all religions are adaptations of one another, variations on a theme and claims to have found the one true religion, having studied multiple religions over the last ten years and taught theology at university. He gives the girls a choice of two doors to go through to exit through the back of the house - one if they still believe in God, and one if they disbelief. Barnes rebels, dismissing several of his claims. They enter the 'Belief' door, but discover both doors lead down to the same dungeon.

After fruitlessly searching for a way out, a decrepit woman appears covered in sack cloth carrying a blueberry pie. She begins eating it and within minutes is dead. Reed states that the pie was poisoned and further claims that she is a prophet of God and the pair will witness her resurrection. Church elder Kennedy (Topher Grace) arrives looking for the girls but leaves without hearing their screams for help. The prophet resurrects and briefly describes the afterlife. Barnes rejects the prophet's description, noting its similarity to common hallucinations from near-death experiences. When Barnes gives Paxton a signal to attack Reed with a letter opener she has stashed away while in his study, he slashes the throat of Barnes and claims that she will also resurrect. 

After Barnes bleeds out, Reed removes a two inch long metal pin from inside her arm, claiming it is a microchip that proves that Barnes was not real and the world is a simulation. Paxton recognises the object as a contraceptive implant, and realises that everything was planned by Reed - while the girls were distracted by the elder's arrival, a second woman hid the prophet's corpse, took her place and delivered the afterlife description as scripted by Reed, adding an unplanned comment - 'It's not real'. Reed's killing of Barnes and attempt to convince Paxton of a simulated reality was a ruse to cover the plan going adrift. Paxton discovers an underground ladder in which the Prophet's corpse was hidden and climbs down, with Reed promising it will reveal to her the 'one true religion'.

After pulling aside the bolts of various doors, eventually Paxton enters a chamber full of emaciated women in cages, locked with the bike lock she used before entering Reed's house. She realises Reed's conclusion - that the desire to control others is the root of all religions. Paxton stabs Reed in the throat with the letter opener, but Reed stabs her with a box cutter in the stomach as she tries to escape. Paxton runs through the house searching for a way out, and eventually finds herself back down in the basement, followed by Reed. As they bleed in the basement, Paxton prays, telling Reed that it is done to show kindness to others rather than to produce material results, as numerous tests have revealed. Reed prepares to finish her off, but Barnes, who was still alive, kills him with a plank of wood with three protruding nails to the temple before finally succumbing to her wounds in Paxton's arms. Paxton climbs out of a window and a butterfly lands on her hand having previously expressed a desire to be reincarnated as a butterfly that appears on the hands of her loved ones. It vanishes, leaving Paxton alone in the snowy bushland.

With 'Heretic' it's refreshing to see Hugh Grant playing against type in his first true horror film outing, and he is more than ably supported by Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher who also add weight to the collective performances. Grant chews up the screen with his sharp, at times witty and always on point dialogue that will have you guessing up to the end and pondering on religious matters long after the credits have rolled. Joint Directors Beck and Woods have crafted a lean, effective, original and surprising horror film that relies more on psychological thrills than traditional jump scares, and on that level the film succeeds in being right up there as one of the best horror entries of 2024.

'Heretic' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE BOOGEYMAN : Tuesday 6th June 2023.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'THE BOOGEYMAN' at my local multiplex this week and this American supernatural horror film is Directed by Rob Savage whose three previous feature film credits are 'Strings' in 2012, 'Host' in 2020 and 'Dashcam' in 2021. This film is based on the 1973 short story of the same name written by Stephen King and cost US$35M to produce, has so far grossed US$24M and has garnered mixed reviews from critics, having been released in the US and here in Australia last week.

Here then, high school student Sadie Harper (Sophie Thatcher) and her younger sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) are reeling from the recent death of their mother who died tragically in a car accident. Sawyer suffers from nightmares and seemingly has visions of a monster living in her closet, and Sadie is struggling to adapt back into school life where her friend Bethany (Madison Hu) has joined in with a new group of girls who treat Sadie with disdain, and offer up little sympathy over the recent passing of her mother. Neither of them are getting much support from their father Will (Chris Messina), a therapist who is dealing with his own pain. 

One day, Will is visited at his home therapy office by a man called Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian) who asks to speak to him. Lester is insistent and as Will has a spare hour in his diary he reluctantly agrees. He goes on to explain that his three children have died, all killed one by one by an entity that he thinks has now latched onto him. Lester was never accused of the crime of murder, but in the court of public opinion he is guilty of murdering them. Although sympathetic to Lester, a disbelieving Will leaves him alone to call the Police. Lester slips away into the house and when Sadie is alerted to a shuffling sound in her mothers home art studio she goes to investigate, only to find Lester's lifeless body hanging from a coat hook on the back of the door.

Attempting to get their lives back to some sense of normality following the death of Billings, Sadie notices a strange black mould beginning to form above her bed, while Sawyer one night is woken by a mysterious creature that has hidden under her bed. Sawyer tells Sadie, who searches her bedroom but cannot locate the creature and does not believe her sister. The girls later visit their therapist Dr. Weller (LisaGay Hamilton) to talk about their mother's death. Weller uses a red light which flashes intermittently to help Sawyer get over her fear of the dark, but Sawyer observes the creature again when the room is thrust into darkness and the light flashes red and wets herself in fright. In the house, the creature continues to stalk and terrorise Sawyer while Sadie also glimpses it and begins to suspect the strange phenomenon is somehow linked to Lester's apparent suicide.

Sadie listens to her fathers recording of Lester's appointment and goes online to acquaint herself with the Billings family history and learns of their address. Sadie has Bethany drive her out to the Billings' now heavily vandalised and seemingly abandoned house. Inside she comes across Rita (Marin Ireland), Lester's estranged wife, who still lives in the house. Rita identifies the creature as 'The Boogeyman', stating it as the source of her children's deaths. She further tells Sadie that the creature feeds off fear and enjoys toying with its prey and that it can also mimic voices. The only way to ward off the Boogeyman is light. While talking to Sadie, Rita seemingly observes the Boogeyman approaching Sadie from behind. She warns Sadie not to move and to remain perfectly still, as she shoots at it with a shotgun, resulting in a disturbed Sadie fleeing the house.

The black mould continues its spread around the house. Later Sadie is alerted to strange noises coming from her mothers art studio. She gingerly enters in, only for Will to appear carrying a box of his wife's belongings which he was about to discard. Will and Sadie attempt to talk about the death of Sadie's mother with her convincing Will not to clear out the studio. Sadie takes the box down to the basement and begins to go through the contents of it, and other boxes too, writing 'keep' on each box. Whilst there Sadie seemingly encounters the spirit of her mother, directing the flame of an old Zippo lighter. At school, Bethany comforts Sadie following the episode at the Billings house, and decides to organise a girl's night at Sadie's house to cheer her up. While smoking a joint, Sadie almost chokes and runs through to the bathroom where she coughs up a tooth attached to a long piece of strings that Sawyer had lost shortly after the Boogeyman appeared. As a prank, Bethany's friends lock Sadie in the art studio closet, where she comes face to face with the Boogeyman. Banging on the door frantically to be let out, it remains tightly locked shut and then suddenly bursts open. A fight breaks out amongst the girls who all leave Sadie's house, angered by Sadie's reaction. Meanwhile, Sawyer is playing her PlayStation downstairs and is attacked by the creature and thrown into the TV, hospitalising her.

At the hospital, Sadie is comforting Sawyer, while Will is in a private room where they brought his wife to be identified after the car accident. Sadie is contacted by Rita, who believes she has devised a plan to kill the Boogeyman. Sadie arrives at the house where Rita has set up a trap with several shotgun shells and trip wires. She suddenly attacks Sadie, planning to use her as bait for the creature by tying her to exposed wall joists with cable ties. The Boogeyman appears setting off multiple traps and being shot several times. Rita sidles up to the apparent corpse and fires two more rounds into it for good measure. With her back turned to release Sadie, the Boogeyman rises and kills Rita. Sadie escapes falling down the stairs with the Boogeyman in pursuit but she shines a bright light on it and it retreats from whence it came. Sadie flees the house. Will calls her asking where she is, and Sadie realises they're already back home. The Boogeyman attacks Will and Sawyer, dragging them into the house. Sadie arrives and finds a hiding Sawyer, who has wrapped herself in green and red flashing Christmas lights, who says the creature took their father down into the basement.

The sisters go down into the basement with Sadie carrying an ice hockey stick for protection. There they find the creature seemingly feeding off Will. They rescue their father and a chase ensues in the basement. With the help of Sawyer and her mother's spirit, Sadie manages to set the creature on fire, seemingly killing it and destroying the black mould through the house. The three manage to escape the house as the flames take hold, engulfing the entire property. Some time after having moved on from their harrowing experience, Will, Sadie and Sawyer have a group session with Weller. As they leave, Sadie is called back to the office by Weller only to discover she isn't there and the closet door is open. Weller appears and questions Sadie, who looks at Weller suspiciously and shuts the door.

'The Boogeyman' is a reasonably well crafted albeit fairly pedestrian horror film that isn't up there with some of Stephen King's more noteworthy horror movie adaptations including 1976's 'Carrie', 1980's 'The Sining', 1983's 'The Dead Zone', 1990's 'Misery' or 2017's 'It', but it also doesn't lurk down in the depth's of some of the also rans that have peppered our cinema screens in the last forty or so years. There are a handful of jump scares, the lighting adds a sense of foreboding, the atmospherics add up to the feeling of dread and fear, and the performances of Thatcher and Blair especially carry this film firmly on their shoulders. But, the story adds nothing new to the genre that we haven't seen countless times before, and when The Boogeyman is finally revealed in the basement, the monster is nothing short of a rip-off of Ridley Scott's 'Alien'. This film is aimed squarely at a teen audience looking for by the numbers thrills and chills and on that note the film delivers, but for the more experienced long-in-the-tooth movie goer, this is an OK horror offering, but not great.

'The Boogeyman' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-