Subservience – Movie Review (2/5)

SUBSERVIENCE is a new sci-fi thriller with Megan Fox as an AI nanny. The third act is the best part while the overall story is often quite weak. Of course, it ends brutally. Read our full Subservience movie review here!

SUBSERVIENCE is yet another sci-fi thriller about the potential danger of letting AI control ever more aspects of our lives. In this movie, Megan Fox plays an AI nanny – or a “sim” as the AI robots are also called – and she does a solid job.

For me, there is too much “filler” in this story that takes away from the interesting part of the plot. The third act does manage to pick up the pace and this is where it almost becomes a horror movie. A runtime of just 98 minutes, is a good thing.

Continue reading our Subservience movie review below. Find it On Digital from September 13, 2024.

Megan Fox as an AI

In Subservience, we meet a struggling father (Michele Morrone of the 365 Days franchise). When his wife Maggie (Madeline Zima) has life-threatening problems with her heart, he buys a domestic AI (Megan Fox) to help take care of his two kids and run the household.

Overall, the father, Nick, is no prize patriarch. He drinks, smokes, works too much, and seems to feel very sorry for himself a lot. A classic brooding man, who does seem to genuinely love and care for his kids.

He just doesn’t prioritize them much in his everyday life, which was odd to me.

And then, of course, having a lifelike robot in the house that looks like Megan Fox is a challenge. Especially as she (or “it”, I suppose) develops an obsessive attachment to him. He is, after all, her primary user, and his needs must be met.

Yeah, it’s exactly as yucky as that sounds.

Can we get back to the sci-fi thriller plot, please?!

With the star of the steamy Netflix movies in the 365 Days franchise, it should come as no surprise that the movie features various hot and steamy scenes. Characters are half-dressed or simply undressed. Men as well as women.

The choice of underwear on the AI nanny had me puzzled, because why would she be wearing anything enticing?

In any case, the AI is very driven by her sense of loyalty to her primary user; Nick. Her reasoning to eliminate anything – and anyone – who stands in his way of pleasure or induces stress, becomes extremely dangerous.

Once the AI, Alice (Megan Fox), really starts to follow her goal of removing any obstacles, Subservience becomes a much more interesting movie. This is also when the sci-fi thriller plot gets more room than the steamy drama storyline.

Watch Subservience on Digital

Subservience is directed by S.K. Dale, who also directed the movie Till Death (2021) starring Megan Fox. Overall, I much preferred his previous movie as it was actually really good.

Megan Fox does what she can in both movies and delivers exactly what she should. It’s simply that Subservience is more preoccupied with delivering on steamy scenes than the solid sci-fi horror moments.

MORE AI SCI-FI?

Be sure to check out M3GAN which has a sequel in production >

Maybe that’s why I enjoyed that final act when the physical elements are about violence and danger. The screenplay comes from Will Honley and April Maguire, but I can’t say I was impressed with it. Not the overall plot or dialogue.

However, I do want to highlight that the daughter in the family is portrayed by Matilda Firth (Starve Acre, Wolf Man), who does an excellent job.

To me, this is a movie that had real potential but decided to focus on carnal scenes of a steamy variety when it could have been a solid sci-fi horror-thriller instead.

With a release date of Friday the 13th, it could’ve been a slam dunk.

Subservience will be released digitally in the US on Friday, September 13, 2024. In the UK it’s also out on EST from September 13 and TVOD from September 20.

Details

Director: S.K. Dale
Writers: Will Honley, April Maguire
Stars: Megan Fox, Michele Morrone, Madeline Zima, Matilda Firth