Companion, An Ominous Frolic through the Apocalypse

Apocalyptic wasteland films are some of my favorites.  I don't even demand originality from them.  Nevertheless, on occasion we do get these films with some sobering originality.  Today we have a grim and horrific jaunt through post-apocalyptic Texas.  Ominous, heartbreaking, gory, and perhaps convicting is 2021's "Companion."  Written and directed by John Darbonne, this is a shocker and without humor or let-up.  No spoilers here, but Christine Nguyen fans will be jolted by her performance in the second half of this film.

It all began in 2024...they arrived...or appeared.  Companions...ghostly apparitions that have a zombie look to them.  The dead have returned and by 2027, the world is gone.  The dead become companions haunting and murdering the areas they died in when they were human.  The few survivors must battle and escape them.  Gus (Marcus Anthony) and his wife Ella (Anna Flynn) are foragers/survivors.  They reach a farmhouse and hope it will provide them shelter.  It won't.  Companions are there, and so is something much worse...you'll see.  As Gus reminds Ella, even more dangerous than these ghoulish companions are survivors. 

The Preacher (Eric Hanson) arrives with a small homicidal gang.  They are all quite insane.  Carnage follows and an apparent savior also arrives, Abner the cowboy (Russell Shealy).  Abner and Preacher are mortal enemies and you will find out why.  Ella and Gus are already in the crossfire between these two but quirks of fate will really play havoc with our young couple.  Oh yeah, these companions?  People who have died?  Well, it is not that simple and now Ella and Gus must also survive the truth of who or what these companions actually are.  Sorry, nothing here about Christine Nguyen's riveting performance, but trust me...it won't be easy to watch.

To survive will Gus and Ella have to figure out a way to kill the companions or the survivors?  In this apocalypse, are the companions merely arbiters of fate and deliverers of some grim news from the other side?  All right...so sue me for asking...any chance that we see Miss Nguyen frolicking in a bikini here? For those who love their horror ominous and grim, enjoy this highly original post apocalyptic tale of the extinction of humanity and man's fleeting attempt to hold onto it.  See "Companion," and be prepared to be discussing it for days afterward.