Subservience (2024)-- My take on the movie with spoilers!

 

Plot: A struggling father gets a domestic SIM to help him take care of the kids when his wife is hospitalized. The SIM turns deadly and puts the father's loved ones at risk.

Quick Review of the Movie

Do not listen to the critics. Subservience is actually a pretty good movie if you give it a chance.

When the project was announced and a trailer was released, a lot of comparisons were drawn with a previous AI-themed movie: M3GAN.

In a lot of ways, Subservience is like M3GAN, but the message is perhaps better conveyed here.

AI is part of our world now, and it will be up to us ( well, not necessarily us unless you are an engineer or someone in the position to fund this technology) to make sure we don't let it take over our lives.

While we may be lauding the comfort AI will ultimately provide us with, we may be overlooking the drawbacks of making our lives too easy.

Subservience serves as an argument for how our complete reliance on AI can be damaging to humanity.

SUBSERVIENCE Movie Plot

The movie begins with the introduction of Nick being a lovey-dovey husband to Maggie. But Maggie suddenly collapses and has to be taken to a hospital, where she is diagnosed with heart problems.

While Maggie has to stay in the hospital, Nick finds it difficult to juggle work and kids Isla and Max. He decides he needs help and goes to buy a SIM to take care of the kids.

The way this is normalised is concerning. Imagine we live in a time where robots can just be purchased. At least they must be affordable, considering so many robots are available.

Anyway while Nick is browsing the different models, Isla goes upstairs to look at other models. She loves lasagna and is looking for someone to make her favourite pasta dish. She goes over to a woman and asks if she knows how to make lasagna.

By this time, Nick has finally realised his daughter has wandered off. He was eyeing a male SIM but now walks away from what would have been a safer choice.

The SIM Isla was speaking to bring her over to Nick, who literally can't keep his eyes off the "foxy" SIM.

Isla likes her a lot and wants to get her. She's also a pro model, and the salesperson explains that she is capable of showing empathy and reading her user's emotions and state of mind.

It's not like Nick was already warned. We don't get to see what the price tag is. All we see is that Nick, who is struggling with hospital bills, is able to purchase a high-end SIM.

Good for him.

The SIM arrives first thing in the morning with her bag, which may be her charging station. We never get to see her charge or anything. Actually, we don't get to see the box altogether.

Nick again seems struck by her and lets his daughter Isla name her. Isla's favourite book is Alice in Wonderland, so she names the SIM Alice.

Nick heads out with the kids after giving Alice a tour where she notices that the bannister is loose. As they all leave, Alice stands by the window and gives a creepy, robotic smile. There's nothing human about it, so Megan Fox has obviously done a good job.

Alice inspects the house and isn't impressed with the mess Nick has left behind. So she chooses the simplest task, ordering the groceries.

When Nick returns, the house is spick and span. Dinner is ready, and the menu is lasagna. Of course, it isn't as good as the one Maggie makes it. Isla comments about I,t and Alice displays some annoyance yet confirms that she will try to do her best next time.

Everything is going fine so far with Alice making her family members feel comfortable around her.

Nick has been having some issues at work because his boss wants to fire the construction crew. Alice is there to talk to him.

Alice is able to get Max to sleep with the help of a pulse inside her that mimics a heartbeat.

One day, Nick receives a call from the hospital about Maggie getting a donor heart. The whole family goes to see her and she teases Nick about choosing a hot SIM instead of a grumpy old butler.

She later speaks to Alice alone and tells her if anything should happen to her, while the kids may be okay, Nick would resort to drinking. At that point, Alice needs to ignore all her protocols and get Nick away. Alice says that only Nick is her primary user and can give orders but Maggie tells her that sometimes you have to do what is right.

Alice amuses the kids as they all wait outside the operation theatre. Turns out that the donor changed their mind or there was a snowstorm, and the heart can not reach on time. There's some conflict regarding the reason.

Anyway, Maggie is disappointed, Nick is frustrated, and Alice, who has Nick as a primary user, begins to empathise with him.

At some point, Nick was watching Casablanca, and Alice knew how it ended. Nick wants her to watch it with a clear memory, so she alters her algorithms and manages to delete some code. While restarting her, Nick is obviously shown to be attracted to the robot.

This is why Alice seems to be able to grow closer to Nick and empathise with him as he goes through tense situations.

One night, when Isla is trying to get cookies from a top shelf, she falls, and Alice heroically saves her. But she gets cut by glass and oozes black liquid. Nick checks on her later as she applies a bandage to her leg. She is in barely any clothes, and Nick gets awkward around her. Alice removes the bandage moments later and shows that her injury has healed.

The next night, Nick is tensed about work and upset about Maggie.

She calms him down by trying to fulfill his needs, but he pushes her away and decides to go for a run instead. All through his jog, he imagines going further with the SIM.

Some time later, Maggie informs him that the hospital has found another donor. Nick is ecstatic.

The operation is a success, but we get to see something disconcerting. All the surgeons are AI. They have no mouths and so don't have to wear masks. There's something eerie about watching them operate on Maggie. They may know about the mechanics of a surgery, but will they also be able to rely on their instincts should something go wrong?

While Maggie is recovering, Nick's friend Monty, who got fired and replaced by AI, decides to vandalise the construction site. He trespasses in the area and then damages an AI crew worker.

Nick is concerned because to open the container of AI workers, he had to use his code. And that makes him liable for the damages as well.

Nick keeps complaining to Alice, who tells him that he must be pleased with the new AI recruits because he could have chosen a human nanny too but chose her. She calls him out on his hypocrisy.

Later, Nick, who is afraid he will be caught for what Monty did, is stressed, and Alice calms him down by removing the robe she borrowed from Maggie's closet. She blindfolds Nick and uses Maggie's voice to seduce him. He gives in.

Maggie returns home but has to be on medication. She makes the lasagna that Isla loves and taunts Alice for not making it good enough. Alice offers to follow the recipe, but Maggie tells her she isn't going to because it's a family secret. Alice appears to be pissed. But she's AI so we can't be sure.

Maggie feels dizzy and goes up to rest. She doesn't feel too comfortable with Alice using her voice to read to Isla or that she is getting closer to Max.

Nick plans a romantic evening with Maggie but Alice interrupts them while they are in the bedroom to say that Isla had a nightmare. We never find out for sure if she did have a nightmare or if Alice made it up because she's become possessive of Nick.

Monty pays Nick a visit as he is cleaning up the patio. They drink, and Monty practically threatens him to ask their boss for his job back or Nick will be outed with him regarding the damaged AI worker.

They get into a fight, and Monty has the upper hand until Alice intervenes and saves Nick. She pushes Monty away, and he heads back home.

Nick confides that he is worried about what Monty could say that would jeopardise Nick's job. And considering the hospital bills, he is in quite a lot of debt.

Alice decides to take care of the problem by killing Monty. Monty's own AI assistant tries to intervene, but Alice kills her too.

In the morning, Nick goes to talk to his boss about Monty but finds out that his friend is dead. The boss gives him some days off to grieve.

At home, Maggie is taking a relaxing bath, and Alice comes to help her. She states that Nick is stressed about her, and since she can't satisfy him in bed, they need a solution. Maggie asks her how she knows whether or not Nick is satisfied or not. She tells him she knows that when he is properly satisfied, his stress levels go down.

Maggie is pissed off and when Nick returns home, gets into a fight. Alice is punished and told to stay in the garage, but she eavesdrop on their conversation.

Remembering how Maggie told her to ignore her protocols and do what is right for her primary user, Alice decides that Nick needs to be unburdened and that his biggest stress comes from his family.

She picks up Max and decides to drown him in the bathtub. Isla informs her arguing parents, and Nick tries to break open the door. Maggie climbs outside the window and drops in from behind.

The two manage to save Max, and while Nick uses a broken lamp to hit Alice, Maggie plugs it in to electrocute Alice.

Alice is taken back for repairs while Max is taken to the hospital. Maggie tells Nick to stay back since she wants time to think.

Rather than stay at home, he goes drinking.

Maggie is informed that Max is fine and she can go home but she prefers to stay close to her son considering all the doctors are AI.

At the service centre, the technicians are baffled at the fact that the AI managed to bypass her codes and even delete some of them causing gaps. The AI is too powerful and manages to take over the system, awakening another AI that is Megan Fox in a blonde wig. She kills the technicians immediately.

She also manages to awaken Alice.

The blonde AI heads to the hospital to finish off Nick's family. Maggie manages to save her children just in time as the blonde AI kills the staff like they are nothing. She also manages to corrupt them.

At the bar, Alice confronts Nick, who pretends to agree with her  wore managing to pull out her memory code.

He leaves to go save his family at the hospital.

SUBSERVIENCE Ending Explained

At the hospital, Maggie manages to lay a trap for the new Alice and use the fire extinguisher on her. She runs to the parking lot with her kids and gets into the ambulance, but Alice appears and throws her out. She manages to cut through her stitches and is about to kill her when Nick comes driving about and rams the car against her.

We don't know what happened to Alice, but Nick is injured. Maggie is bad at finding his pulse and cries over him. Alice comes to attack Maggie, but Nick suddenly wakes up and is strong enough to stand and destroy Alice.

The family is saved and reunites.

At the lab, while the owner of the SIM industries is contemplating how to handle this situation where the SIMs killed the technicians, the original Alice awakens after the entire system is hacked.

Sequel?

The movie ends.

My Take On The Movie

Subservience is a well-made movie that manages to entertain, and also send a message regarding the issues and threats posed by AI.

You'll definitely think twice about inviting AI into your household after watching this movie.

Scare Scale: 3.5/5