In 2021, Megan Fox (Transformers 2007, Jennifer’s Body 2009) starred as a woman with more to her than meets the eye in SK Dale’s Till Death, and now she returns in his latest film as an AI android which is more than meets the eye.
Entitled Subservience, and set for release On Digital and On Demand starting September 13th through Vertigo Releasing (in the UK), along with XYZ Films (in the USA), it all takes place in the not too distant future. Following Nick (Michele Morrone: 365 Days 2020, The Next 365 Days 2022), he is struggling to juggle working, looking after his kids and keeping the house in order after his wife Maggie (Madeline Zima: A Cinderella Story 2004, Bombshell 2019) becomes ill. As a result, Nick is convinced by his daughter Isla (Matilda Firth: Disenchanted 2022, Starve Acre 2023) to purchase an advanced lifelike AI to help out. With the newly named ‘Alice’ to assist, life starts to improve for Nick. However Alice is not content on simply helping out around the home and soon decides that what she really wants is Nick himself and she will remove anything that stands in her way – including his family.
With artificial intelligence becoming increasingly advanced all the time, Subservience feels like a timely addition to the sub-genre. And whereas a film such as 2022’s M3GAN warned of how AI could be dangerous to a young owner – Subservience is very much about how adults also need to watch out. Whilst Alice eventually uses both her super intelligence and super strength in potentially harmful ways, she has another weapon which she utilizes… that of sex. With this in mind, if you were to succinctly sum up this film – Alice is often scantily clad in matching lingerie and her programming has apparently decided that the best way to serve her primary user Nick is to have sex with him at every point. In enough words, ten steps forward for AI development and twenty steps backwards for feminism!
Away from that aspect, Subservience looks the part visually and the mixture of a busy realistic modern family and all the stresses that entails with the more futuristic elements works well. The film has a slightly gritty feel along with its sleeker Sci-Fi parts and the world within feels well realized. The performances are also good with the stand outs being both Fox as Alice and Zima as Maggie. Fox is especially fun when Alice gets particularly murderous, and this again reinforces that Fox is a scream queen! The antithesis to this is Zima as Maggie, who is in extremely bad health and knows that not all is right with the family she has left behind.
It cannot be denied that there are elements of Subservience that are slightly questionable. The film may be billed as a Sci-Fi Thriller, but often it is much more akin to a Sci-Fi Erotica. However when the film moves away from focusing on sex, it is very watchable. There is definitely scope for a sequel and so this may not be the last time that audiences get to see Alice. That is why Cryptic Rock gives Subservience 3 out of 5 stars.
){kind=link}
No comment