Movie review: ‘Companion’ tells fresh, devilishly macabre AI tale [Video]

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 22 (UPI) — Companion, in theaters Jan. 31, is a clever new take on artificial intelligence and robot stories. It reflects not only modern technology, but also recent debates about AI and gender politics.

Sophie Thatcher plays Iris, an android built for subservience and human companionship. In the film’s trailer, she lists the two happiest moments of her life — the day she met Jack Quaid’s Josh and the day she killed him — allowing the ensuing film to justify her actions.

That the film begins as a rom-com is a misdirect, because Companion is a thriller with unpredictable twists and turns.

As the movie unfolds, Iris (Thatcher) joins Josh (Quaid) at a remote mansion with his friends, Kat (Megan Suri), Sergey (Rupert Friend), Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage), and ends up killing one of them in self-defense.

In the aftermath, Josh has to break the news to Iris that she is …