I Was Made for Loving You

My opening line for the Companion writeup was going to reveal something about the film that you probably already know. But what if I'm the one who ruins it for you? I STILL haven't forgiven [NAME REDACTED] for spilling the ending of Fight Club in my 1999 high school philosophy class without warning. 27 years is a long grudge to hold, but as someone with a good 1/8 to 1/4 of Sicilian blood flowing through my veins, I must use caution.

Companion's 'twist' (sold in the marketing and introduced about 20 minutes into the film) will be mentioned below. So if by some chance you're able to approach the film like an innocent baby doe with no semblance of the world around you or the movie, watch it first.

Onward to the rest of us hardened hags.

Quick Plot: Iris is a beautiful young woman happily reminiscing about the two best days of her life: when she met-cute her boyfriend Josh at a colorful but poorly constructed grocery store, and when she killed him.

Yes, we're still in this very frustrating era of horror films not trusting their audience and assuring them that THINGS WILL GET VIOLENT while spoiling the actual trajectory of the story.

Anyway, Iris is reluctantly accompanying Josh for a weekend getaway at a glorious lake house owned by Sergei, the shady Russian boyfriend of pal Kat. Iris knows Kat doesn't like her and feels a little uncomfortable around Josh's friendlier pals, couple Eli and Patrick. Still, she loves Josh too much to let it show and they settle in for some fun.

In the morning, Josh's hangover keeps him inside while Iris heads to the lake alone. Sergei, already a bit flirty, seizes his chance to put on some moves. Iris resists.

Covered in blood, Iris returns to the house to plead her case of self defense. Josh shuts it down.

Literally.

Because she's his robot.

Much like Abigail and a slew of recent genre films whose early twists are too key a selling point to hide in marketing, Companion lives in an uncanny valley with audience awareness. Every ad I saw about Companion seemed to pretty clearly indicate that Iris wasn't human, yet the script is rather shockingly able to have it both ways. The first 20 minutes are playful about Iris's identity in a way that makes the reveal still shocking for someone who didn't know, but not a waste for those who do.

This is a clever film, which makes its decision to open by telling us its ending all the more frustrating. 

Writer/director Drew Hancock has a great touch. His script is snappy, and his talented young cast has the exact right energy to deliver it with panache. As Iris, Sophie Thatcher finds a beautiful balance of humor and hurt. You care about this darn robot, and not just because her human is such a jerk. 

I don't always love a story about humans abusing robots. Despite (and maybe because of) my luddite rage over current society's ill-informed reliance on AI, I sometimes have a hard time feeling much sympathy for a soulless machine. Iris was built and programmed. It's gross to see how Josh treats her, but do we feel bad for Barbie when a kid rips her head off? 

Companion doesn't quite get over that hump for me, mostly because Iris feels unresolved on the page. Thatcher is absolutely wonderful in the role, but her actions (particularly towards the movie's end) don't quite add up in a way that lets me understand her. Maybe that's part of the actual story (she's still in beta), but it does make aspects of the story a touch unsatisfying.

Still, this was a fun, breezy watch. Hard to nitpick when I had such a good time. 

High Points

As a big What We Do In the Shadows fan, I'm not surprised that Harvey Guillén is a delight here, but I was rather tickled at how his subplot with boyfriend Lucas Gage played out

Low Points

Without spoiling (although again: the movie does this in its first five minutes), the last act's final violent conflict doesn't really make sense with who Iris is at this point in time. Hancock had somewhere to get and had to have his characters make some nonsensical decisions in order to get there

Lessons Learned

Not bad doesn't necessarily mean good in Russian

You never don't take a Xanax

Automatic wine openers are more than just white elephant gifts

Rent/Bury/Buy

I found myself really enjoying Companion. The script has some shortcomings, but as a debut, it makes a great case for Drew Hancock's future. You can find it on HBO or Hulu. 

Brought to You By Task Rabbit

A few years ago on a long plane ride, I had myself a ridiculously fun time with Searching. The gimmicky setup of "movie told by a laptop" isn't new to most horror fans (many of us were unimpressed by Host when we'd already enjoyed two Unfriendeds) but when done well, it can be a truly fun time. 

Quick Plot: June has a serious case of senioritis, perfectly timed for her mother Grace to take a Columbian vacation with new boyfriend Kevin. After throwing a vomit-stained house party, June makes it to the airport to retrieve her mother only to discover she's ...

MISSING

Some savvy Gen-Z sleuthing puts June on the case, with minor assistance from the FBI and major help from Javi, a Columbian Task Rabbit with fatherhood issues that make him a helpful ally from a few thousand miles away. 

To go into any more detail of Missing's story would start to give away clues, dead ends, rerouted dead ends, and more. Like Searching, Missing is 'told' entirely from the POV of technology: several laptops, digital security cameras, news footage, Netflix streams, texts, and so on. Real brands are used, making the film a decent marketing tool for various Apple products. Chekhov's Smart Watch is indeed ready for his closeup.

I guess you would refer to Missing as an extended universe sequel to Searching. It follows the same template and even makes reference to the previous film in fairly clever ways. Directors Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick came straight from the editing room of Searching, which makes sense in keeping the style tight. 

I would be thrilled to see the -ing series continue. Missing doesn't quite reach the same heights as Searching, but it's still incredibly watchable. I was occasionally annoyed by some of the plotting, but ultimately, I kept moving closer to the screen to catch all the clues I could find. That's as good a sign of a good mystery as I can fathom. 

High Points

Without a traditional narrative, a movie like Missing desperately needs to find some emotional weight behind its tech-driven storytelling. While I do think June is a bit underwritten, Storm Reid's performance more than makes up for it. She has undeniable charisma that comes through a laptop, and she manages to keep us fully invested every step

Low Points

Missing's power is in its twisty storytelling, so it's quite a shame that the final act has to turn into a rather weak action sequence

Lessons Learned

Kids, I know voicemail isn't cool, but please, for the love of all plot contrivances, do not let that inbox get full

You don't have to use Siri for everything

If you don't want a teenager to be able to hack into every part of your virtual life, do not have a virtual life

Rent/Bury/Buy

Missing didn't thrill me to the same level that Searching did, but it made for a highly entertaining 100 minutes. Find it when you're feeling that very specific computer screen itch. 

Home Sweet Smart Home

 

I have a smart oven. It's nice. I can turn the preheat function on while driving home to save some cooking time. I can turn the oven off without getting up from my chair to save my body from putting in a tiny bit of physical effort. I can turn the light on when I'm not home just to confuse my husband, which is fun.

Sure, life has been made about .00000000000275% easier by this addition to my life. 

I realize that when 'smart homes' are discussed, the stakes are a bit higher. Alexa calling emergency services or adjusting your thermostat for better efficiency is a bit different, and certainly has some genuinely helpful tricks for its inhabitants. But also, every aspect of our days do not require the intervention of a computer code.The obsession with turning more and more simple actions more complex so long as we don't have to do them is, to me, silly.

Onto the smart house horror movie. 

Quick Plot: Our prologue introduces us to a relaxing couple whose evening hits a roadblock when Margaux, their smart home hostess, goes homicidal.  

Somewhere a road trip away, graduating college senior Drew has corralled his scholarship buddies for one last weekend together in the aforementioned smart house. Among the crew are lovebirds Kayla and Devon, stoner Clay (Final Destination: Bloodlines' Richard Harmon), and programming whiz Hannah. 

The gang is happy to reminisce about their freshman year over Pringles bongs and beers, but their rhythm gets interrupted by the last minute crashing of Drew's influencer girlfriend Lexi. This is especially frustrating to Hannah, who's clearly been nursing a crush on Drew since orientation. She also has the added stress of being a computer nerd with a strong (and wise) distrust of AI and data collection. Margaux isn't exactly her dream home. 

At first, the house is splendid. Clay gets treated to the perfect buffet to satisfy his munchies. Kayla and Devon have a honeymoon suite perfectly stocked with their favorite sex accessories. Lexi thrives under the perfect lighting for selfies. What could possibly go wrong?

Obviously, everything. 

Directed by Steven C. Miller from a script credited to Chris Beyrooty, Nick Waters, and Chris Sivertson, Margaux is way better than you probably expected when I said, "today's movie is about a killer smart house." The concept is perfectly fine, even if Margaux's motives are a little fuzzier than they should be (considering Margaux likes to talk a LOT). What makes Margaux such a joy comes down to its characters.

Movies about pretty young people in peril are a standard in the horror genre. Often what separates the good ones from the bad isn't the creativity of kills, but the plain likability of a cast. In the case of Margaux, these young actors are quite good. They're all funny (not surprising if you've seen Richard Harmon's wonderful turn in that Final Destination MRI room) but more importantly, their actual relationships are real.

Take Kayla and Devon, the hot and horny couple obviously marked for an early end. They serve a time-honored role that's so familiar in teen slashers that we know not to be invested. AND YET! Phoebe Miu and Jordan Buhat are so charming that it's impossible not to be gutted when Margaux inevitably has her way. They establish such a believable chemistry that it makes their fully expected death scene have a deep impact.

It would have been so easy for these characters to be silly one-note stereotypes. Some movies seem to even encourage actors to push audiences to root for their deaths. But that's really not the case here. Even interloper Lexi (gamely played by Vanessa Morgan) doesn't deserve Margaux's cruelty. I really wanted the best for these kids!

There are also plenty of good ideas and creativity at heart in Margaux. I liked some of the third act's twists, although the biggest one feels a bit impossible to track in a frustrating way (that will likely make sense if you've seen it). With a bigger budget and maybe a tad more time, I think this could have truly been great. Those details aside, Margaux was satisfying for me from beginning to end. That's not something I expected to say about the killer smart house movie nobody talked about.

High Points

Seriously, this young cast is simply filled with fresh talent that I'm excited to see again. Go Canada!

Low Points

You can cover up a low budget in a lot of clever ways, but Margaux's cartoon CGI robot arms feel bargain bin even by, let's say, SyFy Channel standards

Lessons Learned

The smarter you are, the dumber you will act in the face of emergency

Never mess with a brand ambassador

Nobody is impressed with smart houses

Rent/Bury/Buy

I had a blast with Margaux. It has a great young cast, sharp writing, and some genuinely creative sequences that felt fresh. It's a big recommend (currently streaming on Amazon) and the kind of movie that makes me really excited to see more from its team.