Implanted In My Brain
By Paul Hall
Artificial intelligence has simultaneously terrified and fascinated me for as long as I can remember. Sure we love Google and Alexa, Apple and Siri and the fun AI creations that the movies have given us. But all AI has a dark side that stimulates the brain and causes the brain to craft a much more terrifying alternative. The new film Implanted, plays on all our fears and creates a uniquely scary proposition that is as timely as anything.
In the not so distant future Sarah (Michelle Girolami) is struggling financial. Her mother is dealing with Alzheimer’s and Sarah longs to have those simple moments back. When an opportunity comes along to become a test subject for a pharmaceutical company and earn money for her mother, she takes it despite the risks.
To become a subject, she agrees to the terms and conditions behind the implant of a chip but as with most of the population when it comes to the terms and conditions it doesn’t get read and who knows what the LEXX chip that is implanted is all about?
At first, the chip helps monitor and optimize aspects of Sarah’s life, but that eventually changes and the positives become something much different.
Playing on fears about vaccines and implants that are prevalent in society, Director and Co-writer Fabien Duflis finds a way to immediately put his viewer on edge. He makes the setup limited and gets into the deeper and more sinister aspects of the story. The fears of signing your life away are quickly seen and the draw for accessing financial assistance are used to put us in a frame of mind that makes us susceptible to fear.
Girolami is on the screen for the bulk of the film and is necessary to make Implanted work. And for the bulk of this film it shows to be a solid casting choice. She is able to express the fear, uneasiness and utter hopelessness that Sarah is experiencing in life. If it wasn’t for the ability to believe Girolami, this film would fall flat. Good news, it doesn’t.
The script goes a little off the rails before we reach a conclusion and I have questions remaining after the conclusion, but maybe that is a good thing. I just wish there was less confusion as the third act really stumbled to a finish.
If you are afraid of the topic, you may not want to watch Implanted, but if you want a scare that feels much more frightening because or reality, insert Implanted into your scary movie veins for a terrifying time.
Paul’s Grade: B-
Implanted
Rated NR
Stars: Michelle Girolami
Director: Fabien Duflis
In Theaters and On Demand – 10.01.21
