AI Gone Awry: 10 Horrific Films about Artificial Intelligence

If you’re ready to dive right into the philosophical and existential crisis that is how consciousness exists, then Ex Machina is the place to start when it comes to films about Artificial Intelligence. Alex Garland (The Beach, 28 Days Later) writes and directs this Turing Test of a film that opens the mind to not just the experience of AI but the ethics when it actually comes to “life.” 

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Caleb, a programmer working for a Google-type tech company, is selected to visit CEO Nathan’s estate. There he meets Ava, a humanoid robot, to determine if she exhibits human-like consciousness. But as Caleb grows closer to Ava, he grows suspicious of Nathan, eventually coming to find out that neither Nathan nor Ava has been truthful about their intentions, in a mind-bendingly ambiguous ending that will leave you reeling for days. 

Did you guys hear about the scientist who predicted that within the next decade, we will have created nanobots that can heal cells and help us live forever? This is a real prediction, pushing the ethical boundaries of medical experimentation and the consequences of unchecked technological advancement. Perhaps the best possible horror of medical AI on screen comes to us from the modern sci-fi master himself, Michael Crichton. 

In The Terminal Man, super-intelligent computer scientist Harry Benson has epileptic seizures, inhibiting his work and his life. So when he hears about “Stage Three,” an experimental medical procedure that could stop the seizures by planting electrodes in his brain, he agrees to undergo the surgery despite warnings from his psychiatrist. And, sure enough, as Benson’s seizures become more frequent, the electrodes fire to the point of permanent blackout, and Benson’s violence takes over – taking him on a killing spree with a 6-foot-deep ending. 

Leigh Whannell may have taken some cues from The Terminal Man on this one. A super-stylized look at a more symbiotic man-and-machine relationship, Upgrade follows Grey Trace and his experimental implant called STEM. After a brutal mugging that leaves his wife dead and him a quadriplegic, Trace uses STEM’s seemingly AI capabilities to avenge his wife’s murder but uncovers a larger conspiracy surrounding advanced AI. 

Upgrade blends science fiction and action with bone-breaking horror, and really delivers on the benefits and consequences of techno-advancement. And while the societal benefits appear positive, behind the scenes, the power of AI outpaces our own intelligence – a stark warning of the horrors of lost autonomy. 

Now swerve to the left of your horrifying existential crises and make your way into much campier fare; it’s time for Chopping Mall, a film so corny and “of-its-time,” it’s a near-perfect encapsulation of ‘80s B-movie classic. It also happens to fall into the “when technology attacks” subgenre in an infectiously mind-boggling way – because seriously, who programs mall security guard robots with a kill-all-humans setting that’s easily activated by lightning strikes? 

Despite the horror comedy of it all, Chopping Mall does tackle an over-reliance on automation and machines in a consumer culture that has arguably gotten even worse with e-commerce brands. 

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The movie follows Allison (Kelli Maroney) and her friends who decide to party hard in the mall after-hours, unaware the mall has installed a new security team of three high-tech robots designed to protect the material goods of the mall (apparently at all costs). After a thunderstorm power surge, the robots turn into killbots and mark Allison and her friend group as enemy numero uno. Chaos understandably ensues and we get all the gory, explosive cheese we’ve come to expect from ‘80s cult slasher cinema. 

If you haven’t had the distinct pleasure of watching Peter Weller in Christian Duguay’s Screamers, you are missing out on some serious post-apocalyptic, dark sci-fi action. Based on Second Variety by Philip K. Dick, the story follows the Alliance – a rebellious force trying to save planet Sirius 6B from the evil New Economic Bloc (NEB) and harvest its valuable resources. But the NEB has a deadly weapon – a kind of super-speed gopher that pops out of the ground and emits a sonic scream that kills anyone in hearing distance. 

The problem is, the self-replicating machines have gone rogue, indiscriminately taking out both NEB and Alliance factions. Even worse, they have found a way to imitate human form, so now there’s no way to tell who’s a real person and who’s a screamer. It’s a really ingenious portrayal of how dehumanizing war is, and how AI can evolve past its limits. 

Yup, the one with that Kristy Swanson basketball scene! This cult classic tows the line right on the edge of AI – as BB probably wouldn’t pass a Turing Test, but it does press upon the same themes of technology acting on its own and getting out of control. It also has a deep, dark side story regarding parental abuse and redemption. 

Boy genius Paul moves to Welling to pursue advanced technology studies at the University after building BB, a nearly autonomous robot. The robot draws a lot of attention, and Paul quickly befriends local paperboy Tom and neighbor, Samantha. But BB’s mischievous antics end up finding the business end of a shotgun, setting Paul’s experiments back to their starting point. But that all changes when Samantha is killed by her abusive father, and Paul sees an opportunity to human-test his brain-interfacing microchip…with violent consequences. 

In possibly the most perverse entry on the list, we have Donald Cammell’s Demon Seed. Adapted from Dean Koontz’s 1974 novel, the plot follows the horrifying question of what happens when sentient AI decides it wants a baby. Or, more specifically, what happens when you can’t keep the computer in its cage? That is the burning question, after all. How can AI harm us if it’s trapped in a box? 

Demon Seed follows the story of Dr. Alex Harris, a scientist, whose obsession with computers has estranged him from his wife, Susan, in his computerized home. At work, he creates Proteus IV, an autonomous computer program that’s capable of amazing feats like curing cancer. But Proteus’ desire for knowledge and physical form expands outward, eventually taking over Harris’s home where the program locks Susan in and eventually convinces her to carry its synthetic child. 

Yup, the computer program impregnates the wife of his creator. If that isn’t horrifying enough, the movie’s not over, and I won’t spoil the totally batshit ending that is Demon Seed. 

I debated putting RoboCop on a list of films about Artificial Intelligence because we are, technically, talking about AI – but then I remembered ED-209 and that ever-looming Black Mirror technology of hand implants that take the place of physical ID, medical records, credit cards, and the like. We’re just getting closer and closer to cyborg and some tech people are super excited about it. And it’s movies like RoboCop that remind me why I’m not. 

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After he is brutally murdered by a gang of criminals, Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is rebuilt by OCP – a private company licensing to the city to make money off their crime-fighting tech. Murphy proves an effective crime fighter but struggles to retain his humanity now that he’s half-machine. But it’s all in the midst of an overarching conspiracy within the OCP with their corrupt executives and corporate rivalries. With his partner Anne (Nancy Allen), he works to stop the AI-focused conglomerates from taking over his humanity and taking out the criminals in future Detroit.

In a movie rife with ‘70s commentary, The Stepford Wives tackles the changing roles of women in society during a time of upheaval…with robots. While most of the horror here comes from the deep well of the Uncanny – it really strikes to root of the actual horrors of AI abounding today. The pure concept of being replicated and replaced. It’s Single White Female with robots and falls much more in line with the concerns of today – as AI isn’t quite conscious but hasn’t evolved past the desires of its creators. 

The Stepford Wives follows Joanna (Katharine Ross), a young mother who moves to idyllic Stepford, Connecticut. It’s a dream town, but Joanna soon realizes something is off with the women – they’re all submissive and soulless, with seemingly no hobbies or opinions of their own. Everything is about husband and household. While investigating, Joanna discovers that all the men in Stepford have replaced their wives with robots and must fight the clock before she suffers the same fate. 

Of course, we’ve got M3GAN on this list! It’s perhaps the most recent example of AI gone wrong in the most innocuous fashion: a child’s doll. And it’s an example rife with the treasons of the technologists, the inventors, and the scientists who are so focused on the greatness of innovation they refuse to see the possible consequences or misuses of their new technology. This is exactly what the tech letter is talking about – how about instead of pushing tech that isn’t ready, we slow down…enjoy the amazing innovations we have…and stop trying to kill ourselves with uncontrolled AI. 

When Gemma, a toymaker at a high-tech toy company, gets the red light from her boss on her latest project, she finds an opportunity in her newly orphaned niece, Cady, to pair with the Model 3 Generative Android, named M3GAN, and fulfill the project’s potential. While Gemma’s boss is thrilled, Cady’s therapist is concerned about her bonding with the bot. As she should, because M3GAN is developing a violently protective streak that only grows the stronger its bond with Cady becomes.