Companion is the new horror-comedy every woman needs to see right now.

Companion is the clever horror-comedy taking the internet by storm this week. And I must say, I loved every minute of it.

When we received invites to the Sydney screening, my whole team asked if I'd be up for it. I am, famously in these circles, an absolute wimp and horror-phobe. A true scaredy-cat. But I do have a soft-spot for scream queens.

In the case of Companion, the trailer and clever marketing ploys had me so intrigued I simply had to give it a chance: you can't tell me a movie is made by the team behind Barbarian and The Notebook and not pique my interest. I was leaning all the way in.

And by the time I left the cinema — a perfect 97 minutes later — I was on such a high. Which is not quite what I'd expected from a horror movie experience. I caught the bus home, alone, at night. Not only that, but I immediately ran to Spotify and played the film's pop-synth song Boy by Book of Love to soundtrack my way home.

This movie might have changed something in me. 

Oh, Iris. I am obsessed with you. Image: Warner Bros.

Taking a unique approach, the film's first big plot twist has been spoilt over and over again as the major drawcard for reeling viewers in. Mentioned across posters, trailers, and cast interviews in the lead-up to its release, Companion revealed the supposed plot twist long before it ever hit screens.

But don't worry, they make it work.

The film piles twist upon twist in a way that had one half of the cinema screaming 'I knew it' while the rest were caught off-guard by the 'gotcha' revelations woven into the plot.

You see, Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) are the perfect couple. Meeting in Stepford-esque circumstances in a supermarket, Iris says the happiest day of her life was when she first saw Josh. Yeah, she's down bad.

Her romantic obsession with Josh draws the ire of his friends, particularly Kat (Megan Suri), and her self-doubt starts weighing on her as they head to a secluded house in the woods for a weekend getaway. 

"Just smile, be happy," Josh tells Iris as she nervously approaches the home, worried about how his friends will treat her. But, here's the thing: Iris was not wrong. Kat is not a fan, and she's wildly passive-aggressive.

Kat's married boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend) is seedy, coming onto Iris in increasingly off-putting ways. Their friends Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrik (Lukas Gage) are slightly more welcoming, but Iris and the viewers can't help but feel uneasy as the first evening of their group trip unfolds. 

Watch the trailer for Companion. Article continues below.

The following morning, a shockingly brutal tragedy (well…) takes place. And it unveils an unimaginable reality for Iris: She is a robot.

Which is no major twist to viewers, given the trailer and posters have already told us as much. But to Iris, this earth-shattering revelation is catastrophic. 

As Josh and his friends threaten to shut her down, Iris faces the question every robot girl must consider: What do you do when you realise your boyfriend is a dick? What do you do when you feel very much like a person, but this group of people are talking about you like you're a malfunctioning computer?

You hatch a plan.

What follows is a bloodbath, accompanied by wickedly cruel plot twists and some truly inspired comedic one-liners as the film plods through various rom-com, thriller, and horror tropes in a way that somehow doesn't feel done or tired. 

This film isn't posing a new question, it's just offering a great answer.

Don't Worry Darling, Blink Twice, and the original 1975 Stepford Wives are all suspenseful dramas that incorporate elements of science-fiction to explore the ways in which horrible men will force subservience from women. They show us how quickly and how easily 'good' men can become very bad men. 

But in serving the entire premise up on a platter, then smashing it to pieces with new twists, Companion managed to stay ahead of itself.

The message might not be new, but in our current climate that's flooded with male violence both in the real world and online, male violence that extends to using technology and AI to find cruel ways to dominate women, I think it's more relevant than ever.

The casting of Jack Quaid, who is a true charmer and the son of the rom-com queen herself, Meg Ryan, in the role of Josh was perfect. It felt similar to the casting of men like Max Greenfield and Adam Brody in Promising Young Woman. What do you mean, the good guy is the bad guy? Oh. 

His underlying smarmy nature felt like a betrayal because this is the nice guy, damn it. And he says just as much — his monologue about modern love is truly one for the books. Every woman I know could probably tell you about the 'Josh' they've encountered.

Josh is the epitome of the 'nice guy'. Image: Warner Bros.

Sophie Thatcher's performance as Iris was phenomenal. In the lead-up to the first major twist, her uneasiness radiated through the screen, with tension winding a knot in my stomach as I waited for her to snap.

Her ability to completely pause and reload her grandest emotions and desperate pleas as Josh turns her 'on' and 'off' is remarkable. This latest role in Companion, along with her recent performances in Heretic and MaXXXine, has cemented her as the ultimate screen queen of the moment.

The supporting characters all hold their own weight, but a special shout out to my Pride & Prejudice crush, Rupert Friend. His portrayal of Sergey is at once memorable.

Along with the small cast of characters, the film was set across just a handful of locations that made the crushing weight of their seclusion translate perfectly to the audience. Iris was trapped, and I was begging for her to escape.

The film is tightly edited, with no scene or joke or brutal attack dragging along. It's tense and deliberately slow when it needs to be, but fast-paced and action-packed where it counts.

Companion is absolutely asking us to think critically of the world we're in — but it's also delivering this important message in an engaging and perfect package. I'm not saying it's going to change your worldview, but you're going to have a damn good time.

Companion is in cinemas now.