Sci-fi thriller ponders meaning of being human

The thriller “Simulant" arrives at an opportune time when there’s increased attention to the legal and ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence. The film is set in a not-too-distant future where simulants, or “sims” as they’re called, are created and programmed by major companies and monitored by an agency called AICE (Artificial Intelligence Compliance Enforcement).

The sims look like and act like humans except for a gleaming control panel in their chests. Their owners use the sims mostly for servitude and can shut them down on command. This idea of a robot class is ripe for sci-fi imaginings and director April Mullen, working from a script by Ryan Christopher Churchill, has devised a fantastical but believable tale. It centers on a young woman Faye (Jordan Brewster) who, in the throes of grief over the sudden death of her husband, lives in a sumptuous modern house with a simulant of Evan (Robbie Amell) who has started to have recurring nightmares of the deadly car crash.

But Faye is starting to realize that even a handsome simulant is not the real thing. Ready to resume her art career and face her loss, Faye decides to warehouse Evan until she works up the nerve to destroy him.

As this domestic drama unfolds, AICE agent Kessler (Sam Worthington), haunted by his own personal tragedy, is investigating rogue sims. He zeros in on Casey Rosen (Simu Liu), a crackerjack reprogrammer bent on making sims more “real” and thus equal to their human counterparts, even if that means a stimulant revolt. A cat and mouse game ensues between Kessler and Rosen, who has persuaded Evan that if he’s reprogrammed he’ll be human enough to win back Faye’s love.

“Simulant” is a well acted thriller with polished production values. The search for what makes us human is a compelling idea in a sci-fi fantasy and bringing back a loved one, even in artificial form, is a relatable and moving notion that gives “Simulant” a solid emotional core.