When it comes to unwanted AI women turning up and taking over my life I’m more BBC comedy Ann Droid than Stepford Wives. Though American or British, I still quite like the idea of losing the drudge bits of my life to a more efficient doppelganger.
The trailer for Dreamquil reminds me of plenty of other movies (John C Reilly’s character even delights at his very own Stepford Wife) though it also looks extremely en pointe, as overwhelmed wife and mother Carol (Elizabeth Banks) aims to reorder her life “from the inside” with Dreamquil.
Unfortunately while Carol is resetting from within, alt-wife Stepford Carol arrives in a large box and is soon ensconced in the family, offering homespun perfection to Gary (Reilly) and their son.
Here’s the synopsis:
A woman embarks on a virtual wellness retreat in order to get her life back on track – but with nightmarish consequences.
SO far so sci-fi, aided by its ’50s America meets Blade Runner vibe (though I also wonder if it’s a more mundane, present-day allegory for ex-husbands remarrying women who look just like younger, sexier versions of their ex-wife, wrapped up in modern SexyAI).
The filmmakers seem to have picked up on the way “magic” solutions for harassed, well-off mothers have always spread, from 1950s tranquilisers to 21st century aesthecuticals to supernannies they hope their husbands won’t sleep with: through mum friendship groups, names passed around to the lucky few.
Americans can find out more when it opens in US cinemas on 16 October.
Watch the Dreamquil trailer now:
Dreamquil stars Elizabeth Banks, John C. Reilly, Sofia Boutella and Juliette Lewis and is directed by Alex Prager.