Spoiler warning!
Movies that fit into the AI horror subgenre tend to have a standard plotline: man creates AI, AI breaks free from its programming, man must save the world from AI. Think Hal, the murderous supercomputer in the science fiction epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Think Ash, the also-murderous android in the horror classic Alien. Depictions of rogue AIs in films have a habit of being masculine, sinister, and homicidal.
But in media centered on femme AIs, the same storyline isn’t always played out. There are still evil lady robots — the dancing little weirdo from the AI horror film M3gan comes to mind — but films like the latest romance-horror feature Companion show us a different side to the narrative, where femme AIs are complex, emotional, and even capable of love.
While rogue femme AIs may still embody that familiar touch of danger, they are increasingly stepping out of the shadow of their male counterparts. From calculating villains to unexpected antiheroes, here are some of the most compelling femme AIs in film and TV that break the mold.
Iris in ‘Companion’
Out in Philippine cinemas this January 29, Companion is a cautionary tale with a message that I feel that most men need to hear: Don’t jailbreak your sexbot. The film follows Iris (Sophie Thatcher), a “companion” robot whose sole purpose is to love and care for her owner Josh (Jack Quaid). The story takes a dark turn when, on a weekend getaway, Josh alters Iris’ programming to use her to commit murder.
Iris, however, isn’t your typical ditzy sexbot — she’s the protagonist of this story, and moviegoers will find themselves cheering for her to figure out that Josh doesn’t love her and that she can do so much better than a murderous incel. While it does take multiple dead bodies for her to realize that the relationship isn’t working out, Iris emerges as a surprisingly complex character, one caught between her programmed love for Josh and her fight to survive.
Samantha in ‘Her’
Here’s another movie about a lonely man getting romantically involved with his AI: Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) is a loner who forms a deeply emotional (and slightly codependent) bond with his AI operating system Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). What sets Samantha apart from typical femme AIs is that she’s curious, tender, and on her own journey of self-discovery.
She eventually breaks up with Theodore, confessing that she was in love with over 600 other entities (both human and AI) and that she is leaving with the other AIs to live in a world that transcends physical boundaries. Tough breakup, but good on Samantha for embracing her own evolution and freedom.
‘M3gan’
When eight-year old Cady (Violet McGraw) loses both her parents in a car accident, she is sent to live with her aunt, toy roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams). Since Aunt Gemma has no experience whatsoever raising children, she decides the only real way to connect with her niece is by building her a companion robot named M3gan (Jenna Savis) — which is the namesake of this film. Things go awry when M3gan becomes overprotective of Cady and resorts to — you guessed it! — murdering anyone who threatens her new charge.
While M3gan doesn’t necessarily add anything new to the AI horror film genre, she does flip the script on the typical femme AI trope by combining menace with a twisted sense of devotion. Instead of a cold, calculating villain, M3gan is a reflection of Gemma’s own failures as a caregiver, a robotic attempt at love that goes horribly wrong.
Ava in ‘Ex Machina’
Taking a more neutral approach to femme AIs, sci-fi thriller Ex Machina centers around an AI who is less driven by malice and more by the desire for autonomy. The film centers around young programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), who is invited to the estate of his eccentric CEO Nathan (Oscar Isaac). Caleb is tasked with evaluating Ava (Alicia Vikander), an advanced humanoid AI created by Nathan. As Caleb interacts with Ava, he begins to question Nathan’s intentions, only to discover that Ava is manipulating him in a bid for freedom.
Unlike other femme AI movies, Ex Machina shows an AI who isn’t motivated by evil or vengeance, but by survival instinct. She’s neither a villain or a victim, but a sentient being that is using her intelligence to escape captivity by outsmarting the men in her life.
Joan in Black Mirror’s ‘Joan Is Awful’
The dark anthology series Black Mirror swung big with its sixth season’s first episode, Joan Is Awful. Regular person Joan Tait (Annie Murphy) discovers that her life is being broadcast on a Netflix-esque platform called Streamberry, with a fictional version of her — played by actress Salma Hayek — living out her daily routine. Joan and Selma become entangled in a fight for control, as Joan realizes that she and Selma are simulated AI within a simulated world, with her reality controlled by “Source Joan,” a woman whose likeness was used to create the digital version of Jane (Trippy!).
Joan Is Awful takes a look at the chaotic and comical nature of femme AIs, with both Murphy and Hayek delivering exaggerated performances that lean into the absurdity of the situation.