‘Simulant’ is a sci-fi thriller that follows Evan, an android who becomes self aware after finding out he has been created to replace a woman’s dead husband. Befriending Casey, Evan learns of and becomes involved in removing the government restrictions placed on all simulants.
The film opens on Evan and Faye together as they are involved in a car accident. Waking from a nightmare of that fateful day, Evan wanders their matrimonial home and realises he is physically unable to enter a room. Raising questions about the accident to Faye, she avoids the topic and grows distant.
Meanwhile, agent Kessler is tasked with tracking down a simulant who had escaped her master. Managing to find Esmé, Kessler realises she does not operate by the principles placed on the simulants to restrict their agency. Further investigation reveals that Esmé’s neighbour Casey is a developer who had worked on creating the simulants and had altered Esmé’s presets to remove the restrictions placed on her.
Unable to live with lying to Evan, Faye reveals to him that the real Evan perished following the car accident, with both of them having previously agreed to create simulants should anything go wrong. Unwilling to carry on living with the simulant, Faye moves Evan into a separate apartment. Casey befriends Evan and reveals to him his plans to remove the restrictions placed on all simulants to enable them to live autonomously.
Kessler picks up on Casey’s activities and tracks him to his home. Trying to escape, Evan and Casey retreat to Evan’s cabin in the woods. Tracking the pair, Kessler and Casey are in a struggle during which both get shot. Returning to the cabin, Casey ensures the update patch he has altered goes out to all of the simulants and they are free of their restrictions.
Tracking down Kessler, Evan follows the agent and confronts him. Realising men like Kessler will never see simulants as equals, Evan watches Kessler crawl away as he bleeds out. Back at the cabin, Casey’s human doppelgänger Desmond, the developer who’s identity Casey was based on visits with the simulant as he powers down due to his injuries.
Back at Faye’s house, Evan confronts her, asking for her to accept him as he is. Stopping her from forcefully shitting him down, Evan kills her. Evan then goes by to awaken Faye’s simulant and the film closes on the two looking on to their human counterpart’s home.
‘Simulant’ does not tell a wholly original story. It does not reinvent the wheel by unearthing a novel concept, nor does it stand out because of any earth shattering revelations within the well-trodden science fiction concept.
The idea of artificial intelligence gaining equal footing with its creators is a premise ripe for philosophical and ethical discussion, where it may freely wander to cover action or even horror territories. Successful forerunners within the genre have proved that such ventures can have a meaningful impact, i.e. ‘Blade Runner’ (1982), ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968) or ‘The Matrix’ (1999). The success of the aforementioned lies with the films covering the various extents to which A.I. resolving to cohabit with its creators impacts on their joined future, whereas ‘Simulant’ feels more like an amalgam of the conceptual novelty with little else to add to the genre besides a further iteration of what has already come before it.
Failing to dazzle in terms of story, the film also does not succeed in leaving a lasting impression in terms of its visual choices and aesthetic. Whilst it is increasingly harder to develop a novel look and create a distinct feel to a movie, ‘Simulant’ feels akin to television show, delivering what feels like a mid-budget TV show, refusing to don any sharp or individualistic expressions to match its events.
‘Simulant’ provides for a disappointing viewing experience. Its story feels so bland that even as the viewer has guessed the twists and turns the story will take, it feels even more like a disappointment when those things come to pass, as the previously anticipated events in themselves had seemed so obvious that they may have been red-herrings in themselves. What the movie actually ends up being is a dull and vexing show that reaches its conclusion long before the viewers have.
Touching on well explored topics, ‘Simulant’ dips in and out of familiar territory whist refusing to add any originality or innovation towards either the theoretical analyses of the material or any singular artistic expression. Not adding any intrigue or choosing to lean towards any daring statement regarding its characters, ‘Simulant’ falls flat and disappoints with its bland lack of conclusions. Aggravating at its worst and banal at its best, the film reeks of an uninspired attempt at science fiction, where it fails to even deliver credible personal drama.
Score: 1/4
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