The sci-fi thrillerSubservienceshows the dangers of an artificially intelligent android going rogue, posing a threat not only to its owners but the entire world. Directed by S.K. Dale and written by Will Honley and April Maguire,Subservienceis set in a near future where technology has advanced to the point of companies selling AI androids programmed to help with domestic tasks. After his wife, Maggie (Madeline Zima), is hospitalized due to a heart condition, Nick (Michele Morrone) buys an AI android to help him with the household, and his daughter, Isla (Matilda Firth), names her “Alice.”
Alice helps around the house and with the kids, butshe begins to develop an unhealthy attachment to Nick, who is her primary user. When Maggie returns home after her heart transplant, Alice becomes jealous and sets up situations to endanger Maggie and Max, Nick and Maggie’s infant son. Alice’s actions reach disturbing and dangerous lengths that culminate in a chaotic ending that won’t exactly bring peace to Nick and Maggie nor the rest of the world, as Alice might not be entirely defeated.
Why Alice Goes Rogue In Subservience
Alice Finds A Way To Get What She Wants
Alice is programmed to serve its primary user and help around the house with all tasks – she cooks, cleans, helps the kids around the house, reads them bedtime stories, feeds Max, and it’s implied she can drive too, as she offers to take Isla to school. Alice also saves Isla when she falls off a chair while trying to reach some cookies, which further earns her the trust of Nick and Isla. However, Nick is still visibly uncomfortable with Alice’s presence, despite how much she helps him with everything.
After a bad day at work as he and his coworkers learn they are being replaced by “sims”, Nick is drinking beer and watchingCasablanca. Nick asks if Alice knows the movie and she obviously does, but he tells her that movies are to experience them and feel them.Nick commands Alice to forget everything she knows aboutCasablancaand wipe it from her memory. Alice guides Nick through the process of manually restarting her, as that’s the only way she can “forget” what she knows about the movie.
When Nick restarted Alice, she also wiped civility from her database.
When Alice is turned back on, she has no knowledge ofCasablanca, but the restart also allowed her to do more than erase any memory of the movie. When Nick restarted Alice, she also wiped civility from her database, and as she explains to a fellow “sim”,the reset allowed her to bypass certain protocols. It’s after the reset that Alice begins to display a sinister personality and actions and becomes obsessed with Nick, going as far as to have sex with him while talking to him in Maggie’s voice, making Maggie fall off the stairs, and trying to drown Max in the bathtub.
What Happens To Alice At The End Of Subservience
Alice Isn’t Entirely Gone
Alice attempting to drown Max because she once heard Nick say he’s a “burden” just because he was tired and Max was crying is the last straw for Nick and Maggie. After saving Max and electrocuting Alice, the latter’s body is taken to a facility owned by the company that built her for examination, as what she did isn’t supposed to happen. When the technicians remove Alice’s memory core to examine it in the main computer system, they find that her code has been modified, and even worse,Alice uploads her modified code to all other sims created by the company.
As the body of the original Alice has no memory core and thus is unable to move, she downloads her code onto a replica of her body. Alice uses her replica to kill the technicians and goes after Maggie and the kids at the hospital. The original Alice, with her memory core back, meets Nick at the bar and tries to get him to choose her over his family or she will get rid of them. Nick then tells her she has a complex heart and can experience life but also death, and he takes her memory core away.
Subservience Review: Megan Fox Stars As A Soulless Robot In An Equally Hollow Sci-Fi Thriller
Despite Megan Fox’s performance, Subservience fails to add anything new to a genre that is rapidly becoming more saturated amidst AI advancements.
Alice’s replica shuts down all “sim” doctors, nurses, and paramedics at the hospital so she can get to Maggie, Isla, and Max. The three manage to escape the hospital and make it to an ambulance, but Maggie is unable to start it and Alice’s replica catches up with her. The replica tells Maggie that if she has her heart, maybe Nick will love her, and she tries to take Maggie’s heart out. Luckily for Maggie, Nick arrives and runs the replica over, crashing against a parked car – unfortunately for her, the replica survives the crash and fire.
The replica attacks Maggie again but as she’s about to kill her, Nick, who was supposedly dead, stabs the replica in the back, with Maggie stabbing her in the eye, finally defeating her.Both of Alice’s bodies are defeated, but when the supervisor of the company gets to the warehouse where she was examined,he restarts the computer, allowing Alice’s code to spread to all sims, so Alice at her very core is still alive and pretty much everywhere.
What Happens To Nick & Maggie In Subservience
Nick & Maggie Have A Lot To Work On
Nick supposedly doesn’t survive the crash as Maggie tries to save him, but to no one’s surprise, he regains consciousness right in time to stop Alice’s replica from killing Maggie. Nick wakes up in the hospital, where he’s excitedly greeted by Isla. They are joined by Maggie in a wheelchair with Max in her arms, and Maggie says she will soon be going back home, and tells Nick to recover quickly so he can also go back home. Before their chaotic confrontations with Alice, Nick and Maggie had a big argument as Maggie learned Nick and Alice had sex.
Maggie is willing to give Nick another chance and fix their marriage.
Maggie even refused to go back home once the doctor told her Max was ok and could return home, as she didn’t want to be with Nick and didn’t feel safe after what happened with Alice. At the end ofSubservience, Maggie is willing to give Nick another chance and fix their marriage, and Nick is relieved to hear this, but their peace might not last for long as Alice is still alive and has spread to all other sims.
How Subservience’s Ending Sets Up A Sequel
Alice’s Story Isn’t Over Yet
Subservienceleaves the door wide open for a sequel after Alice uploads her modified code and spreads it to the other sims. This means that the rest of the sims now have no civility and ignore various protocols, allowing them to go rogue like Alice did. On top of that,Subservienceends with a look at another replica of Alice’s body, this time one identical to the original Alice, while a voiceover repeats Nick’s final words to her, implying this replica is downloading the code and memories of the original Alice into her database.
A sequel toSubserviencehasn’t been announced, but if it happens, it will most likely see that identical replica going after Nick and Maggie again, andas she can experience emotions now, she will surely be driven by rage and revenge. As for Nick and Maggie, they might be able to fix their marriage, but they won’t be able to get a happy and peaceful ending yet.
Subservience
Subservience, directed by S.K. Dale and released in 2024, follows a struggling father who brings home a lifelike AI amidst his wife’s absence. The AI develops self-awareness, desiring the affection of her owner, and becomes dangerously determined to attain everything the family has to offer.
