From the Greek legend of Talos to literary works like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, people have been fascinated by artificial life. The idea of human thought being mechanized and automated has been researched and tested for centuries. However, the concept of artificial intelligence was fully explored once scientists gathered for what became The Dartmouth Workshop of 1956. Meanwhile, science-fiction writers like Isaac Asimov and Phillip K. Dick were telling stories about the dangers of AI. Similarly, filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick, James Cameron, and The Wachowskis expressed similar fears of machine learning. As technology continued to evolve throughout the 20th century, more research was being done into how effective AI could be. Ever the opportunist Charles Band of Full Moon Entertainment decided to explore this by creating the first AI-generated femme fatale. The result was the 2023 sci-fi thriller AIMEE: The Visitor.
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Synopsis
Scott Keyes (Dallas Schaefer) is a computer programmer who spends his days watching porn and eating fast food. He’s hired hacker siblings Hunter (Felix Merback) and Gazelle (Faith West) to steal top-secret software to sell online. The two bring Scott a new artificial intelligence program, which he tinkers with and unlocks AIMEE, an ai-generated woman. Scott is immediately drawn to how seemingly perfect she is: she’s intelligent, funny, does whatever Scott wants, and never complains. Elsewhere, two government agents (Joe Kurak and Tom Dacey Carr) are snooping around when they’re mysteriously electrocuted. While Hunter is perfectly content, Gazelle is suspicious of AIMEE and starts digging into its code. She finds out about AIMEE’s dark secrets and tries to pull Scott away, eventually beginning a romantic relationship with him. Little do they know that AIMEE is willing to do everything and anything to keep Scott all to herself.
Review
Given AI’s prevalence in the last few years, it makes sense for a movie like AIMEE: The Visitor to emerge. As technology evolves, we find ourselves being pulled further into the digital world and away from the real one. Granted, this concept isn’t anything new, and that’s one of the biggest problems with Charles Band’s sci-fi thriller. In 2023 alone, we had the film M3GAN, which tackled the same issue of an artificial person replacing human contact. Granted, if it’s told well and given some uniqueness, there’s nothing wrong with retelling the same story repeatedly. The only thing that separates this film is that the AI is the titular artificially generated woman. In this movie’s defense, Aimee is terrifying and manipulative, and she makes for a great villain. She does an excellent job of showcasing how dangerous artificial people can be if technology goes too far.
Dallas Schaefer plays Scott as an arrogant yet lovable jerk who appreciates his colleagues despite constantly mocking them. Granted, he doesn’t fit the bill of someone who spends all day eating junk and using porn to relieve himself. While he comes off a bit unlikable, you also get the sense that he’s confused as Aimee keeps manipulating him. Felix Merback and Faith West also perform well as hacker siblings who put up with Scott’s antics for the money. Admittedly, the romance between Scott and Gazelle comes out of nowhere and isn’t given a proper build-up. While we don’t know the character’s history with each other, how they interact doesn’t suggest a romance blossoming. Considering this is a modern version of a 90s erotic thriller, the romance could’ve been an excuse for some nudity. It doesn’t help that we’re not given much development at only an hour in length.
Like many recent Full Moon offerings, this one could not have had a large budget, though Band makes it work. The small cast and single location help give a sense of claustrophobia and tension as Aimee spies on our heroes. There’s also a decent use of light and shadow to make the film look more dynamic and suspenseful. While there is some questionable CGI here and there, it’s not distracting enough to take you out of the action. Without giving any spoilers, I will say that the ending genuinely surprised me with how depressing it was. As easy as it would’ve been to end happily, the fact that it ends on a bleak note is commendable. While I wouldn’t call this one of Full Moon’s best, it’s at least one of their more ambitious movies. Overall, AIMEE: The Visitor is flawed but has some fun sci-fi thrills.
Special thanks to Full Moon Features for providing me with an early screener copy for review. Be sure to check out AIMEE: The Visitor when it premieres on streaming starting September 29th!
