Lately, AI (Artificial Intelligence) has become the go-to topic for horror filmmakers as the popular thing for as far as their antagonists. Such as Megan, AfrAId or Imaginary. That’s the case here with Scott Dale’s film Subservience. He casts Megan Fox in the role of AI antagonist and she does a great job as this character similar to her turn in Jennifer’s Body. She is fantastic in horror roles. 

In the near future Nick (Michele Morrone), a construction foreman, is married to Maggie (Madeline Zima); together they have two kids Isila (MatoldaFirth) and Max. They live a good life until Maggie is diagnosed with a bad heart and needs a transplant or she will die. Nick has to work to help support the family while his wife is in the hospital. So he buys a Synth or Synthetic person if you will to help take care of his children and the house. Her daughter happens to be reading “Alice in Wonderland” at the time so she names the synth Alice (Megan Fox) Accidentally when Nick gives Alice a command he inadvertently changes her. This proves to be a bad thing for him and his family.

The cast is filled with relative unknowns except for Fox. She has had an up-and-down career since her breakout role in the Transformers franchise from Michael Bay. As mentioned before she has found a niche in the horror genre. She tends to fit in the roles in Jennifer’s Body and this movie better than most of the other roles she gets. She was terrible in The Expendables 4, but she’s good as this AI housemaid and caregiver.  She plays it pretty straight with the help of a little CGI. She’s quite believable in this role. Here’s hoping she keeps doing horror roles because they fit her more.

Ironically or not one other actor, Madeline Zima, has had a decent career, but there is one particular role that caught my eye and that’s the role of Emma Bartel in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. She was a little girl back in 1992, but now she’s all grown up. This was ingenious casting by Dale because this film had a feel similar to “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle”. The nanny turns out to be a bad lady. This one is the AI maid/nanny. Very similar in tone and feel. I don’t think many people will catch this touch of genius from the director.

This movie is an under-the-radar film. A lot of people aren’t going to know about it coming out, but I’m here to say it definitely has a style and quality to it. It uses technology in a fun and interesting way. With AI being a hot-button topic these days, movies like this can be hard to watch. Black Mirror the Netflix original series uses technology in fascinating ways that make me scared of what could happen if we lose control like the father does in this film. I’m genuinely scared of what AI can do. The Terminator franchise should have told me that already by now.

Subservience is another AI horror film, in what I’m sure won’t be the last, that scares me a lot. These movies start okay and end up going to crop, literally and figuratively.  Haven’t we learned by now not to trust technology? I guess not because people continue to do so in these movies. Time after time. The acting by the relatively unknown cast is pretty good, but, I believe I’m saying this, Megan Fox leads the way as Alice. She became this AI servant and that is one of the best parts of the movie. The call back to “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” was pretty cool as well. Dale makes an entertaining AI horror film on a small budget that is more enjoyable than I thought it would be. There is one lesson you should learn from this film though. Don’t trust AI at all.

3 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen