Ex Machina is the 538th episode of the Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Lon Harris, and Bailey Meyers. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 2015 science fiction psychological thriller film Ex Machina. It was published on April 9, 2024, to coincide with the release of director Alex Garland's latest film at the time of posting, Civil War. It is 5 minutes and 32 seconds long. It has been viewed over 600,000 times.
Script[]
From Alex Garland, the filmmaker behind sci-fi concepts like, "What if zombies could run?" (28 Days Later), "What if you had to take a work trip to Florida?" (Annihilation), "What if men were all, uh..." -- I don't know; I skipped that one. (Men) -- and coming soon, "What if Americans shot each other in a more orderly fashion?" (Civil War), comes his directing debut that asks the most important question of our times: "Can we f*ck the robot?"
Caleb: That wasn't my real question.
Nathan: Oh, okay. Sorry.
Ex Machina
From Internet merch store A24, comes a prescient story about A.I. sounding cool when you first hear about it, then realizing it ruins everything (shows Nathan's corpse with an iron bar jammed into his side), in a film that only feels dated because a tech CEO wants to make sure his product works before it's released. I mean, come on; if this were real, she'd ship limb-by-limb in a subscription box, and Flirt Mode would be a paid DLC.
Ava: Is your status... single? (a text box pops up reading "Please enter payment info to attempt rizz")
When not-Google wants someone to confirm they put real feelings in a RealDoll, they'll pick Caleb; he's gullible (shows Caleb struggling to remove an implant from his mouth), awkward...
Caleb: Wh-Where... (chuckles) Okay, where do I start?
...and easily impressed by bad art...
Ava: (showing Caleb a sketch of some trees) Is it interesting?
Caleb: Yes. It is.
...so basically, the perfect target market for A.I. Watch as he's whisked off to majestic B-roll of Norway, where he'll live with his weird boss and a fembot, until he's mixed up worse than someone trying to spell "Domhnall Gleason". D-O-N... <BZZT!> D-O-M-A... <BZZT!> Urgh! (shows Domhnall Gleason's credit) "D-O-M-H-N"?! Buy a vowel!
Strap in for Oscar Isaac's breakout performance as Nathan Bateman. (shows Patrick Bateman from American Psycho) No relation? He's a CEO straining to keep a lid on his evil tendencies, like David Zaslav at an all-hands meeting, but unlike a real executive, he's smart enough to build this in a CAVE, WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS (!), while still finding plenty of time to party (shows Nathan slapping himself repeatedly, then spitting), analyze cinema...
Nathan: Ghostbusters.
Caleb: What?
Nathan: A ghost gives Dan Aykroyd oral sex. (shows said scene)
...and rehearse what might be the best movie moment of that decade?
Nathan: However, you would not be wasting your time... if you were dancing with her. (dances with Kyoko to disco music as Caleb watches in confusion)
You think Nathan regrets working on their choreo instead of, oh, I don't know, an "off" button? (shows Kyoko stabbing Nathan in the back) Nah, worth it! (shows Nathan and Kyoko dancing some more)
Joining the boys in their weeklong bro-down is Ava, the latest member of the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope (shows Leeloo from The Fifth Element, Alita from Alita: Battle Angel, Bella Baxter from Poor Things, and Ava from this film), even though she looks like an early-2000s iMac, and sounds like lightsaber practice. (montage of Ava whirring as she moves) She's still got all the powers of a human woman, like... knowing when you're lying...
Ava: What's your earliest memory?
Caleb: --it's a memory of kindergarten.
Ava: Lie.
...picking up on red flags...
Ava: Nathan. / You shouldn't trust him.
...and taking FOREVER to get ready. (shows Ava picking out her wardrobe while fast-forwarding)
Ava: Now open your eyes.
Yeah, yeah, you look great; can we please go to Chili's now?
So skin up for one of the best sci-fi films of the 2010s, that will leave you stunned, with a million questions swirling in your head at the end: "What did each character really know, and when?" "Does Ava have any plans beyond escape?" "Can she charge herself in the microwave or something?" "If her brain was trained on search data, shouldn't she be way more disgusting?" "Will I look like a dick at our Chili's date if she's not eating or drinking anything?" "Is Caleb a good person or no? Why didn't he try to help Kyoko escape?" "Will he hit the weights long enough to break himself out?" "Why would a genius like Nathan run a secure lab on a keycard system?" "What was the next generation he was working on like?" "Is Oscar Isaac hot no matter who he's playing?"
Apocalypse: Learning...
"What does Ava whisper to Kyoko at the end? 'Beep boop, kill the humans'?" "Why did Nathan give Ava a sex drive, but no pain receptors? Isn't that part of being human? What does it even mean to be human? How human are Ava and Kyoko after all? Does it matter? Is my Roomba mad at me?" You know, maybe we actually shouldn't f*ck the robots; it's simpler that way.
Starring: Hux to Be You (Domhnall Gleason as Caleb Smith); No Sir, I Didn't See You Playing with Your Dolls Again (Oscar Isaac as Nathan Bateman); Chat ShePT (Alicia Vikander as Ava); This is Kyoko. She Stabs My Back. I'd Advise Not Getting Killed by Her, Her Knife Pokes a Hole in Its Victims (Sonoya Mizuno as Kyoko); and Everyone After Seeing Oppenheimer.
Caleb: "'I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.'" (shows Rick Dalton pointing something interesting out)
Do Androids Dream of Eclectic Geeks?
The honest title for Ex Machina was ‘Do Androids Dream of Eclectic Geeks?’. Titles designed by Robert Holtby.
You can tell Caleb is a good programmer, but not a genius, because he leaves comments in his hacking code. (zooms in on a comment reading "Compute BlueBook unlock code")
Viewer's Comments[]
Please say the best line from Ex Machina, "I like Depeche Mode!" - FixerUK
Say: "There is no epic voice guy, only Zuuuuuuullllll." - joermnyc
Please say, "If Cat's could text back, they wouldn't." - Reoh0z
Please say, "You don't need a parachute to go skydiving. You need a parachute to go skydiving twice." - easterthefoolish
Trivia[]
Reception[]
Production Credits[]
Voice Narration: Jon Bailey aka Epic Voice Guy
Title Design: Robert Holtby
Written by: Spencer Gilbert, Lon Harris, Bailey Meyers
Produced by: Spencer Gilbert
Edited by: Kevin Williamsen
Post-Production Manager: Emin Bassavand
Content Manager: Mikołaj Kossakowski
Post-Production Specialist: Rebecca Castaneda
Director of Video Production: Max Dionne