grahamvandyke

Companion is the perfect example of the state of Hollywood as a whole. This movie has a 7/10 on IMDB which is relatively high, and I absolutely love Sophie Thatcher from The Yellowjackets. Seemed like a slam dunk choice to watch, but I found myself getting more and more bored the longer the movie trailed on.

It's not exactly like Companion is a bad movie. There's just nothing special about it whatsoever. Every single aspect of the movie feels like it's lacking any true inspiration and artistic direction. Everything is just lukewarm and there's no real shock and awe.

Hollywood movies recently have been in quite a slump since the pandemic, and this kind of movie getting such a high score on here makes total sense that something this mediocre could pass off as a great movie.

The most common reaction I would expect this movie to garner would be the word "surprising" given the leads Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart, who had made names for themselves by starring in lighthearted comedic movies and TV shows. The Butterfly Effect, as we would all learn, is the complete opposite.

This movie is SHOCKINGLY dark, and masterfully woven together to spin what seems like a pretty cliched, campy idea into something complex and adult in nature. I watched it so many times as a young teen and it never got old on multiple viewings.

As a PSA if you have not watched this movie yet BE SURE TO WATCH THE DIRECTOR'S CUT. This movie has 4 (yes 4) separate endings, and the only good one exists in the Director's Cut.

You know when you hear people hyping up a movie, especially with lines like "This move was CRAZY". Well, it was not overselling this time. This movie certified belongs in a mental asylum.

The true power of The Substance comes from the director having absolutely no qualms about pushing the boundaries of how far to take any given part of the movie, be it music, special effects, plot, dialogue, sound design, the list goes on. This really had the makings of a true cult classic and masterpiece.

HOWEVER.

Once the movie hits the last 30 minutes there's a noticeable decline. It feels like the movie begins to try to "1 up" what it had been doing the entire time, by making the ending so completely over the top it crosses into an indecipherable mess. Quite a shame considering I was close to putting this on my list of best movies of all time.

The real question is- is it worth the watch for the parts that are genius? The answer is a resounding yes.

9-10/10 for the first 1.5 hours, 3/10 for the last half hour.