Romi is a 2023 Canadian sci-fi horror film about a young woman on the run who is terrorised by the A.I. in a state-of-the-art smart home.
Directed by Robert Cuffley from a screenplay written by Susie Moloney based on their 2019 short film of the same name.
The movie stars Alexa Barajas, Juan Riedinger, Pavel Kríz, Jamie Shelnitz and Jocelyn Chugg.
Plot:
Maddie (Alexa Barajas) is in trouble. She’s been in an accident, and her politician mother can’t have her careless daughter destroying the reputation she’s built, so she sends Maddie to a safe house: a state-of-the-art domicile boasting a fully operational A.I. system called Romi.
Hertig (Pavel Kríz), the property manager and owner gives Maddie a tour of her new digs, complete with every convenience brought to her by Romi. He’s a bit strange, and she’s wary of him, but there’s also the awkwardly charming A.I. tech Barkley (Juan Riedinger), whose genius built the artificial assistant from the ground up.
Despite the occasional company, Maddie is scared she’ll be arrested and feels quite alone and there’s something not quite right with Romi. What lies ahead becomes an unsettling mystery for her, and surviving this lockdown instead of going to jail becomes her top priority…
Reviews:
“There’s a bit of hokey CGI as the film opens but for the most part it flows at a nice pace hitting certain important markers along the way and setting up what should’ve been an intriguing finale. With that being said the direction that the film goes in is formulaic and sadly left me rolling my eyes a little bit […] the film does manage to redeem itself with a cool reveal and a fairly satisfying resolution.” The Fright Club
“It still takes a tad long to get rolling and I do wish there was just something more going on. It’s just, almost too slow from the start though once things are going it’s very entertaining. I definitely felt that at times this did provide some eerie feelings though tensions could have been tighter as there was room to dive into that further.” Rating: 6.7 Gamer Headquarters
“Romi is recommended only for smart-house thriller, supernatural entity, and misogynist psycho killer movie completists. If watching a film featuring a glitchy smart home that seems to be anything other than smart is your thing, by all means keep an eye out for this.” The Good, the Bad and the Verdict
“To me, Romi did feel more like a short movie that had simply been dragged out in runtime. Sure, there’s plenty for a runtime of around one hour, but it did feel too long. That’s my main issue with it…” ★★ Heaven of Horror
Release:
Having been shown at Fantasia and the Blood in the Snow Festival in 2023, Romi was released on Tubi on March 14, 2024.
Trailer:
