ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joseph Perry writes for the film websites Gruesome Magazine, The Scariest Things, Horror Fuel and Diabolique Magazine; for the film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope and Drive-In Asylum; and for the pop culture websites When It Was Cool and Uphill Both Ways. He is also one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast and can occasionally be heard as a cohost on Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast.

The press information for director Charles Band’s AIMEE: The Visitor proclaims that “This is the first film in history to feature a character not portrayed by an actor or designed using digital special effects, but entirely created using modern A.I. technology.” With the Hollywood strikes occurring partially because of studios considering replacing writers and actors with AI, the film drops at an interesting time. 

The core of this cautionary fable is nothing new: computer technology becomes self-aware and attempts to destroy the life of the person(s) using it. In this case, Scott Keyes (Dallas Schaefer) is a supposedly high-end computer programmer who makes a lot of money from corporate espionage, yet he is holed up in the type of questionable apartment for which cinematic hackers are known and stays inside watching porn and eating fast food when not doing his shady work. He rents out space in the building to brother-and-sister hacker duo Hunter (Felix Merback) and Gazelle (Faith West), who help him in his nefarious deeds. And for some reason, Gazelle is crushed out on the misanthropic Scott.

Enter AIMEE, a beautiful (of course) AI creation who can help Scott however he wishes — professionally or personally, which leads to a fantasy three-way sex scene and a jealous rivalry between AIMEE and Gazelle. All manner of deadly hijinks ensue, with FBI agents and a pet dog involved in the mix along with our main three human protagonists. 

As a Full Moon Feature, the special effects are on the low budget side of things, and the AIMEE effects should relieve most human actors of any worries about AI taking their places soon. The performances are fine, with the main cast members not treading into scenery-chewing territory. 

If you’re in the mood for a The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, or Black Mirror style of “beware technology” science fiction tale combined with erotic thriller elements, AIMEE: The Visitor should have what you crave.  

AIMEE: The Visitor, from Full Moon Features, is currently available on https://www.fullmoonfeatures.com/