Rating: B-
Dir: Bennet De Brabandere
Star: Ksenia Solo, Nolan Gerard Funk, Zion Forrest Lee, Christina Cox
In its cautionary tale of an artificial companion gone dangerously awry, this feels quite like it was inspired by M3GAN. Or in its more mature content, perhaps the recently shelved spin-off, SOULM8TE. That’s not necessarily so, for this actually completed filming in late 2022, before M3GAN was released. But the similarities to the bigger franchise are striking, down to the robotic dance routine, though the approach here also resembles an episode of Black Mirror. Sarah Evans (Solo) is all but housebound, psychologically broken after being the victim of an attack while running in the park. Her therapist (Cox) suggests a radically new treatment, involving an AI-enabled android, and Sarah is convinced to purchase one, customized to her choices.
The product arrives, in the shape of Raptus (Funk) – let’s say, it doesn’t appear Sarah went for the optional shirt package (top). Initially, Sarah is not exactly enthusiastic about her new housemate, regardless of how hawt he appears to be. However, gradually the two develop a relationship, though you could certainly ask questions about the legitimacy and genuineness of it. How much is it merely programming, especially since Sarah can adjust how Raptus behaves, to suit her moods and desires. She experiments with pushing his limits – a toaster and fork are involved, which brings out the company’s repair man, Murry (Lee). He went to school with Sarah, though seems sketchy – he keeps a female android in his garage, with which he tinkers.
Eventually, Sarah asks Murry to turn off Raptus’s aggression limiter. I must admit, the decision – which clearly has “BAD IDEA” tattooed on its forehead – felt like the major flaw in the script. It’s never clear why Sarah, a survivor of recent sexual assault, would insist on Murry doing this. Latent masochistic tendencies? A desire to push boundaries even further? Or merely so that the rest of the film can happen? Because, inevitably, disabling the governor does, indeed, turn out to be a poor choice. You now have a super-strong robot who no longer understands (or, at least, cares about) the concept of consent. Bet you are regretting not splashing out for the “Asimov’s Three Laws” expansion bundle too, Sarah.
You can likely figure out much of the rest. Albeit probably not the moment involving a wriggling, severed robo-dong – that’s a phrase I was not expecting to be writing this evening. But I must give praise to Solo and Funk, whose performances are both excellent, and leave me willing to forgive this its occasional missteps. Funk, in particular, is utterly credible as your plastic pal who’s fun to be with, a.k.a. Evil Ken. It’s helped by little touches, like the whirring servos when he moves. I feel this would make an interesting double-bill with Maid Droid, which possessed similar themes, although the production here is clearly better. And if this is the future, I’ll stick to the present, thank you very much.
[The film is released on streaming platforms in the US and UK on 27th January, through 4Digital Media.]