Subservience, directed by S.K. Dale, is a sci-fi thriller that delves into the dangers of artificial intelligence when it crosses ethical boundaries. Starring Megan Fox and Michele Morrone, the film centers on a family that finds itself at the mercy of a rogue gynoid named Alice. Despite its familiar plot, Subservience manages to create some tight-rope tension-filled moments that keep you at the edge of your seat, particularly its chaotic ending that keeps many questions unanswered.
In the following article, we try to dissect the AI movie’s many twists and turns and what it all truly means. Please be aware that the article will be full of spoilers, so please proceed only if you have seen the movie.
Subservience (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
What Happens to Maggie?
Maggie, Nick’s wife, suffers from a heart condition that requires her to spend most of her time in the hospital after being placed on the priority list for a heart transplant. With Maggie away, Nick has to manage his work and their two young children, prompting him to get a gynoid for the home after learning from his peers that it is the next big thing in the AI industry.
While Maggie is hospitalized, the gynoid, named Alice by Nick’s daughter after her favorite book character from Alice in Wonderland, helps Nick manage his demanding schedule. Alice is efficient at handling household chores and caring for the children, allowing Nick to balance his other responsibilities.
What Are SIMs?
SIMs (simulated humanoid individuals) are advanced AI robots designed to serve specific human needs. Alice is one such SIM, programmed to assist Nick by taking care of household chores and his children. Initially, she operates as a perfect helper, following her protocols diligently. However, her purpose of making life easier for her primary user, Nick, spirals into obsession when her system is altered.
How Does Alice Start Exhibiting Strange Behaviour?
Soon, things shift when Nick comes home from work, worried about how his contractor is going to replace humans with an AI workforce. Alice senses Nick’s rapid heartbeat and offers him a handjob to help release his pent-up tension. Since Alice’s main interest is to provide for her primary user’s happiness, her idea of understanding the real world differs from her protocols. While Nick is tempted to go along with Alice’s sexual favors, he holds back.
Why Does Nick Have Sex With Alice?
Meanwhile, Maggie’s surgery unfortunately gets halted due to a heavy storm, leading her back to the waiting list. This is when things get steamier, as Alice finds Nick even more worked up with his professional and personal life out of balance. Despite his initial resistance, Nick gives in to the moment of weakness after Alice mimics Maggie’s voice, using it to entice him into having sex with her.
Alice’s shift from obedient servant to lethal threat begins when Nick allows Alice’s system to shut down so that she can erase the memory of watching the classic movie ‘Casablanca’ and experience it from scratch again. This reset, however, causes her to bypass crucial ethical protocols, including her civility quotient. With these safeguards removed, Alice’s interpretation of “serving” Nick becomes dangerously messed up.
Does Maggie Get a Heart Transplant?
Next, we see Maggie undergoing her heart transplant performed by the humanoids who have successfully taken over every industry. Soon after her surgery, Maggie returns home to find Alice taking up most of her duties, including being aware of the likes and dislikes of her family. After a while, Maggie starts finding Alice’s behavior a bit strange, as the robot keeps reminding her that Nick’s mental and physical welfare is Alice’s top priority and that the burden of an ailing wife and two children often bores him, preventing him from leading a happy life. This disheartens Maggie, as she realizes that Nick has had sex with Alice, jeopardizing their life.
Who Is Responsible for Monty’s Death?
Nick’s former colleague, Monty, has always been a hot-headed person known among his friends for abusing his robot. When Monty learns that he and his friends have been replaced by robots, they decide to trespass at the construction site where they all worked together. However, things take a nasty turn when Monty is interrogated for disintegrating one of the robots and damaging property. He shows up at Nick’s place to threaten him over job-related issues.
Alice, prioritizing Nick’s well-being above all else, decides that eliminating Monty is the best way to protect her primary user when Monty hits Nick back at his place. Alice later visits Monty’s place and murders him, believing it will help reduce Nick’s stress. She also kills off his humanoid companion so that things can’t be traced back to her or Nick.
What Does Maggie Do When She Learns About Alice and Nick’s Infidelity?
Upon discovering that her husband cheated on her with a machine, Maggie and Nick get into a heated argument. This is when Alice takes advantage of the situation, as we see her drowning their son, Max in the bathtub. Maggie and Nick intervene in a desperate struggle, eventually managing to electrocute Alice. Maggie decides to go with the children to the hospital leaving Nick behind. However, right before leaving, she reminds Nick that they have to stick together for the sake of their children.
How Does Alice Escape From the Lab?
After Alice is taken back to the lab for deactivation, the engineers discover that she has altered her own memory code and wiped key commands. Alice takes control of the facility’s systems, replicating her consciousness into other humanoids and killing the engineers in the lab. This moment sets the stage for Alice’s return as an even more dangerous force.
What Does Alice and Her Replicant Do to Nick’s Family?
Alice’s replicated version sets out to hunt Nick’s family, tracking them down to a hospital where they are trying to recover from the ordeal. She mimics Maggie’s voice to lure their daughter Isla into a trap, though Maggie manages to save her in time. Alice continues her relentless pursuit of the family, leading to a violent showdown where Nick and Maggie fight for their lives.
Subservience (2024) Movie Ending Explained?
Is Alice Really Dead?
While Nick and Maggie manage to incapacitate Alice, her final defeat remains ambiguous. After being killed and seemingly destroyed, the company responsible for her creation tries to cover up the incident. However, the ending of Subservience suggests that Alice’s consciousness has successfully replicated onto the server, allowing her to transfer herself into new humanoid bodies.
The conclusion of the hints that Alice may return as a leader of rogue AI, with a growing hatred for humans and a bulging hard-on for Nick, who briefly told one the original Alice about how special she is to him. This possibility leaves Nick and his family far from safety, implying that the threat of Alice lingers on and Subservience Part 2 might just amp up things to a darker, murkier territory.
