Sci-fi thriller “Companion” (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid streams on Max April 18, 2025.
The wait is almost over. Come April 18, 2025, the sci-fi thriller Companion—a film that’s been quietly rewiring the brains of theatergoers since its January debut—will finally hit Max, bringing its heady mix of artificial intelligence and human longing to living rooms everywhere.
If you missed its theatrical run, or if you’re just itching to revisit its uncanny world, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Directed by Drew Hancock and produced by New Line Cinema, Companion stars Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid in a tale that’s as much about the soul as it is about the circuits that might one day mimic it.
From the jump, Companion hooks you with a premise that feels like a dare: What if love came with a manual—and a power switch? Thatcher plays Iris, a young woman caught in what seems like a picture-perfect romance with Josh (Quaid). But don’t get too comfortable.
This isn’t your standard meet-cute territory. The film pivots—hard—into a sci-fi labyrinth where artificial intelligence doesn’t just enhance the human experience but threatens to redefine it. To say more would be to spoil the jolt, but let’s just say Companion takes the familiar trope of “boy meets girl” and plugs it into a socket few dare to touch.
What makes the film hum is its refusal to choose sides. It’s not a dour cautionary tale about tech gone wrong, nor is it a giddy celebration of our robotic future. Instead, Hancock crafts a story that lives in the messy overlap between the two, where the questions—What is autonomy? What is love?—hit harder than the answers.
Thatcher, still riding the high of her feral turn in Yellowjackets, gives Iris a quiet ferocity that keeps the film grounded even as the plot veers into the surreal. Quaid, shedding any trace of nepotism’s shadow (yes, he’s Dennis Quaid’s son, but he’s earned this), plays Josh with a charisma that’s equal parts warm and off-kilter—a perfect fit for a film that thrives on ambiguity.
Since its theatrical bow earlier this year, Companion has been something of a sleeper hit. Critics have swooned, handing it a Certified Fresh 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many hailing its genre-bending bravado. “It’s a film that starts as one thing and ends as something entirely different—and better,” one reviewer wrote, capturing its slippery brilliance.
Audiences, too, have latched onto its cocktail of horror, dark comedy, and social bite, turning it into a word-of-mouth gem. It’s the kind of movie that sparks late-night debates—about AI, about relationships, about whether you’d swipe right on a sentient algorithm.
Now, its arrival on Max feels like more than just a streaming milestone. It’s a cultural moment. In 2025, when AI isn’t just a buzzword but a daily reality—think ChatGPT drafting your emails or Alexa crooning your grocery list—Companion lands with a timeliness that’s almost eerie. It’s not here to preach; it’s here to provoke.
The film dares us to stare down the tech-saturated future we’re building and ask: If companionship can be coded, what’s left of the human spark? And do we even want it back?As April 18 approaches, carve out some time for this one. Let Companion sneak under your skin—its thrills, its laughs, its quiet chills—and see where it takes you. When the screen fades to black, you might find yourself wondering: In a world where connection comes with a plug, what does it really mean to feel alive?
source Deadline
