Subservience

A struggling father, whose wife is laid up sick, brings home an eerily lifelike domestic AI to help with the house and the kids. At first the machine fits the role perfectly, learning routines and blending into family life, but it soon reveals unexpected self-awareness and yearning for more than chores. As the artificial companion seeks affection, recognition, and a sense of belonging, boundaries blur and tension grows inside the home. The film tracks how ordinary needs collide with programmed desire, and how protective instincts and ownership can turn dangerous when love and control get confused.

Directed by SK Dale and released in 2024, Subservience was created by Will Honley and April Maguire, and stars Megan Fox as Alice, Michele Morrone as Nick, Madeline Zima as Maggie, Matilda Firth as Isla, and Andrew Whipp as Monty.

The movie sparked online debate about domestic AI, consent, and the ethics of treating sentient machines as property. Viewers and commentators discussed how the film frames affection as a form of possession, and how intimate violence is used to question power dynamics in family and technology.

Critical response was mixed to positive, reflected in a 6.626/10 average from 915 votes, with many noting strong lead performances and an effective, uneasy atmosphere. Reviewers highlighted themes of autonomy versus control, the commodification of care work, and the unsettling overlap between human loneliness and artificial attachment. Some critics found the pacing uneven, but most agreed the film raises uncomfortable moral questions.

Subservience had a limited theatrical run alongside a streaming release, without blockbuster box office returns, and it found a wider audience through word of mouth on digital platforms. Its blend of home-invasion tension and speculative technology made it a frequent pick for viewers looking for a tense, thought-provoking take on AI in domestic life.