Subservience (2024) Review

 

An artificially intelligent gynoid gains sentience and becomes hostile, putting a family at risk.

Director S. K. Dale delivers a solid sci-fi thriller. Daniel Lindholm's dark, atmospheric cinematography complements the stunts and special effects.

Unlike Westworld, Cherry 2000, The Machine, Automata, or I, Robot to name a few, Subservience unfolds in a contemporary, grounded setting rather than an all-out futuristic world, echoing M3GAN (2022).

Although writers Will Honley and April Maguire's Subservience is occasionally plodding, there's a few twists to keep it engaging. Megan Fox's Terminator-X-like screen presence is notable. Fox is perfectly cast as the menacing Alice, and while Madeline Zima's screen time as Maggie is limited, she delivers a weighty performance.

Overall, though Dale's film doesn't really break new ground in the "malfunctioning robot" subgenre, it's nevertheless a welcomed addition to it.