Is there anything that A.I. can’t do? In the film, “Likeness”, an A.I. mom is instrumental in a young woman’s quest to find her missing real mom. David Flores ratchets up the tension throughout the run time of this short film delivering an emotional and compelling story with a suspenseful ending that leaves the watcher breathless.
Does the thought of getting your script in front of industry professionals leave you breathless? If so, consider submitting your own script to the current Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition. Submissions are open now!
The Plot
The film opens with the sounds of keyboard taps. Kaitlyn comes into view squarely in the middle of the screen – the POV proxy for the laptop. The scene shifts to a computer screen interface. A friendly but impersonal A.I. assistant’s voice walks Kaitlyn through accessing the platform. Images flash of a carefree woman before that same woman appears on the screen to greet Kaitlyn. It’s her mother, Fiona. But it’s not her mother…
Kaitlyn’s mother vanished four months ago. The company, re zoom, allows her to build a facsimile of Fiona utilizing internet activity to approximate Fiona’s personality. Now Kaitlyn is on a mission to find her real mother with the help of this A.I. version. She becomes a digital detective out of necessity. Kaitlyn believes that because her mother is a sex worker, the case is no longer a priority to the police. The film nails the tech user experience down to the A.I. assistant’s voice – captivating yet sterile at the same time.
As she dives deeper into her sleuthing, Kaitlyn becomes increasingly angry with the A.I. mom. The carbon copy of her mother further reminds Kaitlyn of how she took their relationship for granted. This only heightens Kaitlyn’s desperation to find Fiona. The guilt threatens to undo Kaitlyn just as a new clue is revealed. A username that appears over and over in her mother’s comments sends Kaitlyn down a dangerous path to confront a man she suspects is involved in the disappearance.
The ending is harrowing and shocking not for what you see but for what you don’t see.
What Lies Underneath
At the forefront is a mystery – where is Fiona? To answer that question, Kaitlyn puts herself in a risky situation that mirrors the risks her mother took as a sex worker. It is worth noting that the images and videos of the ‘real’ Fiona throughout the film are joyful and depict a kind person. This could also mirror that a person isn’t the sum of one part of their lives i.e. Fiona is a sex worker, but she has many more facets to her.
Grief is tricky to handle in a film without being heavy-handed and preachy, but David Flores does a fine job with this underlying theme. There is just enough suspense, tension, and the threat of a dead body to classify it as horror in the same vein as Black Swan, Nightcrawler, or American Psycho. The boogeyman isn’t always supernatural. Sometimes it’s real flesh and blood.
This is essentially a chamber piece with two characters. That can easily fail if the casting falls flat. In this case, the cast is perfection! Actors Mary Rose Branick as Kaitlyn and Virginia Newcomb as Fiona give stand-out performances. Special shout out to Lanéa Nolan as the A.I. voice! Voicework is an art all on its own and Nolan succeeds in bringing a soulless but approachable A.I. voice to life.
What Makes It Killer
“Likeness” is a mystery wrapped in grief tied with a string of horror and suspense. The script, the acting, and the directing come together for a riveting film. Watch it at Omeleto’s YouTube channel.
Director: David Flores
Cast:
Mary Rose Branick as Kaitlyn
Virginia Newcomb as Fiona
Lanéa Nolan as the re zoom voice
