Review: Smart House

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Smart House
Directed by John Oak Dalton
Midwest Film Venture; ITN Studios
www.itnfilms.net/
76 minutes, 2023

Director John Oak Dalton is known more as a screenwriter (many involving sharks and the Polonia Brothers), but this is only his third directorial effort, after The Girl in the Crawlspace (2018) and Scarecrow County (2019), but both exceeded their budget and are well worth the watch.

Technology has always given way to genres in the arts. For example, the atomic age led to a glut of sci-fi novels and giant creature features like Them (1954) or Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956), VHS gave us a proliferation of giallo and slashers, and the internet the likes of Unfriended (2014). Even Covid led to smaller casts (Quarantine Girl, 2020) or the use of Zoom (Host, 2020).

Now with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a newer genre rises of technology, more personal than the fantastical like the Terminator franchise. For example, recently there was a film called Motion Detected (2022) https://indiehorrorfilms.blogspot.com/2023/05/review-motion-detected.html that dealt with a “smart house,” which still had a supernatural element to it. And now, there is Smart House, which takes out the metaphysical and gives us pure evil AI.

Iabou WIndimere

The focus of the story is Mari (Iabou Windimere), a woman who has been harassed by her violent ex-, Shawn (Joe Kidd). She is now alone in a house run by a Siri type of table device called Cassandra (voiced by the Brinke Stevens in that distinctive, smoky voice of hers) that was designed by her ex-hacker father, Cordell (Tom Cherry). Cassandra has some glitches to it, and is not calling Mari by the name of Clytemnestra, but rather Mary or Murry.

Mari’s profession is as an online influencer, on a very weird show where she brushes her hair and talks in a whisper (which is supposed to trigger an autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR). I have never understood stuff like that; too esoteric for me. I like plain and simple, like punk over prog. As she does her program, be sure to read the scrawl of “live” viewer comments on the left; some are positive and others not so nice, as is probably accurate. And they are humorous in their trolling.

Anyway, Cassandra has been acting weird and not following requests in increasingly annoying ways (vacuums going in the middle of the night, for example). Over a short time, Cass is in control, or rather another hacker has – er – hacked into the system, locking Mari in with specific and every increasingly hazardous requests. What I do not understand on all genre films where doors are locked and they are “trapped”… why not a chair through the window to get out, if you are threatened?

Erin Hoodlebrink, Tom Cherry

Like the documentary “Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer” (2019), can the audience or others help poor vexed Mari escape her doom and save her podcast? Will the trolls win out and reduce her “numbers”?

The film addresses several issues, such as the power of influencers online, and their lack of it in the real world. It also shows the duality of the level of commitment of the audience, and the sheer banality of anger and hatred (trolling). It also examines just how much we give up of our autonomy with the “convenience” of automation. A professor of mine said that every technology eventually does exactly opposite of what it was supposed to do in the first place, such as the internet was supposed to bring us all together, and instead we sit on our butts by ourselves, online, even in the company of others. In some ways, Smart House addresses that.

Mari is trapped not only by Cassandra, but by the image of herself as an influencer, not even being her own self, but rather a whispering hair brusher. Singer-songwriter Christine Lavin has a song called “Prisoner of Their Hairdos.” which addresses this issue, as well.

Additionally, this is what I would also call a Covid-related release, as there are many characters in the film, but in only two instances do two meet face to face. Everyone else is either on the phone, the internet audience, or voices on the Dark Web.

Another side fact is that of the three films Dalton has directed, this is the first one he has not written. Despite the desperation going on, it is not as emotionally deep as the previous two as far as emotional turmoil levels. Mari is strongly put-upon during the night, but the lasting trauma of Dalton’s previous films was palpable. This one was still traumatic, don’t get me wrong, but the cut is not as deep as, say, in The Girl in the Crawlspace.

There is no sex, nudity, or gore, and yet the story line is enough to keep one interested. Obviously, this was filmed in December (2022?) due to the Christmas lights up everywhere, which is never addressed in the events or by the characters.

The computer graphics that are used are fun, but I was especially impressed by those attached to the opening credits. I found it fascinating. Being a low budget release, there is also a nice use of stock footage (some people have the same yellowish glow filter that past – and hopefully future – failed politician Kari Lake uses, which made me laugh).

As I have said before, Dalton is part of the Dayton, OH film group, who often use the same actors and cast, with varying degrees (e.g., Iabou has been in all of Dalton’s films, and many in Henrique Couto’s as well). It is nice to see familiar faces as well as some new ones. Of course, some are just voices here on the ‘net.

I am always happy to see a John Oak Dalton film, even if it is just a screenplay, especially when collaborating with Couto (who produced Smart House and was cinematographer), an excellent filmmaker in his own right. I will be happy to see what comes next for Dalton.

IMDB listing HERE

Trailer HERE