Subservience - New Release Review
Director: S. K. Dale
Starring: Megan Fox, Michele Morrone, Madeline Zima, Matilda Firth
Written by: Will Honley, April Maguire
Produced by: Jon Berg, Jeffrey Greenstein, Yariv Lerner, Tanner Mobley, Greg Silverman, Robert Van Norden, Les Welden, Jonathon Yunger
Cinematography by: Daniel Lindholm
Original Score by: Jed Palmer
Synopsis:
A struggling father who purchases a domestic SIM to help care for his house and family, unaware she will gain awareness and turn deadly.
Thoughts:
Who remembers the 1992 classic 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'? Ever think about that film and think “Jeez not enough killer robots in this”? Or think “My God, this movie is too classy, I like my films to have a soft-core porno vibe to them”? Well fear not! As I have the perfect movie for you, starring the baby from 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' just to hit the nail on the head with the subtle hammer.
'Subservience' also has a former 'Transformers' star as the lead killer robot, that kids is, Megatron aka Megan Fox! She perfectly captures the look of an android by appearing in the whole film like her mind is somewhere else in the matrix. Not to have a go at Megan Fox, because I am a fan of hers from time to time, but she needs to stop working with this director, S.K Dale. Dale previously directed 'Till Death', another absolute stinker starring Fox; and after watching 'Subservience', I really hope they don’t make a third outing together.
The movie opens with a father and daughter shopping for an android to help around this house. The scene shows flashbacks of the mother having heart problems, grasping at her chest, leading us to believe that the mother died and that the father is looking for an android to help in the mother's absence. Yet, the scene after Megan Fox is introduced as the perfect robohelper for the family, it’s revealed that the mother is just in hospital having an operation. It’s at this point I realised that the film was being helmed by someone who doesn’t know how to properly tell a story. What we get for the next 40 minutes almost feels like a desperate man’s dream of heaven, as M3gan Fox first sexually assaults the father with a handjob, before several scenes later, just having full blown sex with the man.
I’m no prude, of course, but it almost feels like these sex scenes are included because 1. Naked Megan Fox and 2. The story wasn’t mature enough to show this robot manipulating this man in a much clever way. Even when this “affair” is revealed to the wife, the husband gives the excuse of “I was horny and you were in hospital for a week, what did you want me to do?”. Absolutely ridiculous stuff. I will say that the father and mother are played by Michele Morrone and Madeline Zima, respectfully, and they’re doing the best job they can with this terrible script.
One of the main problems with the third act of the film is that it suddenly moves from 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' thriller to an action packed 'M3gan' rip off, and the tonal shift totally derails the film. While writing this I just remembered that there’s a class system subplot about robots taking away jobs from the working man. Damn! This film has it all.
I can almost see the vision here, a throwback to a 90’s sex thriller with a modern twist, yet S.K. Dale’s ineptitude towards storytelling ruins everything. Like I said, I’m a fan of Fox (I love Jennifer’s Body), and playing a scary robot could have been a homerun for her, but she comes off as soulless and a joke.
Verdict: ⭐️½
-Adam Neeson
'Subservience' is available on Digital from September 13th
Comments