'Ex Machina': A Science Fiction Film Grounded in Gothic Undertones

Written by Kate McHargue

I had a conversation with a friend recently about the struggle to create something new. He said that the aim shouldn’t necessarily be to make something new or different, because almost everything HAS been done before, but that you should try to do something classic and either perfect it or add a new element. This same friend then insisted we watch Ex Machina, which he claims to be a perfect example of what he was talking about. According to him, this film is Science Fiction at its best. And I agree with him. But I think Ex Machina may also be the greatest revamping of Gothic Literature I’ve ever seen.

While the premise of the film is undeniably Science Fiction, genius programmer creates an AI robot whose sole purpose is to pass the Turing test, the underlying plot is so rooted in Gothic Literature that Poe and Shelley would be impressed. The film opens with our protagonist, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), winning a corporate contest in which he gets to spend a week with his company’s founder. Caleb is whisked away to a futuristic mansion in parts unknown where he meets Nathan (Oscar Isaac), the eccentric but seemingly friendly genius billionaire recluse. It is here that Caleb meets Ava, the AI robot that Nathan has built and the real reason for his being there. Nathan has chosen Caleb to meet his creation and to decide if Ava is actually a functioning AI; if she actually has a conscious mind or if she is simply a computer mimicking the behaviors she observes. 

As the story progresses, the flashy robotics and throbbing synth soundtrack fade into the background and what is left is the age old Gothic Literature story complete with forbidden rooms, repressed lust, violent outbursts, and slow, terrifying descent into madness. Caleb is the young ingénue lured to a mysterious and unfamiliar place, preyed upon by the mad scientist whose monster is at once friend and foe. I won’t give away the ending (trust me, it’s better this way) but if you know anything about Gothic Lit tropes you may already know where this story is going.

There are a few moments in the film that are nearly textbook Gothic, but none more so than Caleb’s discovery of the truth behind Nathan’s house of horrors. On his fifth night at the compound, after Nathan has passed out drunk, Caleb steals his key card and explores the parts of the house that were restricted to him. He finds security tapes which show unsettling footage of Nathan’s previous attempts at AI robots. He opens closets in Nathan’s bedroom in which are hanging the grotesque, half constructed, nude bodies of Nathan’s failed AI’s. In a startling revelation, he finally realizes that Kyoko, Nathan’s mute assistant and physical companion, is another one of his creations and that Nathan is quite possibly unhinged. Unable to process these terrifying revelations, Caleb retreats to his room and proceeds to spiral downwards in an existential crisis of spectacular proportions. As he contemplates his reflection in the mirror and obsessively probes his skin he begins frantically dismantling a razor. After making a long, deep cut in his left arm he seems, for a moment, relieved at the blood pouring from him; proof that he is not also one of Nathan’s AI robots. This moment passes, however, and is quickly replaced with a rage that leaves Caleb with a bruised fist and a shattered bathroom mirror.
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This film debuted with great success in 2015 and has been heralded as a modern Sci-Fi classic, and I can certainly see why. But while the debates on whether or not an AI has rights or the discussions on robotics advancements are all very interesting, the heart of this film is the Frankenstein’s monster redux that is Ava. And she says it best when she asks, “Isn't it strange, to create something that hates you?” Ava is the classic Gothic Literature monster, simultaneously terrifying and pitiable. She didn’t ask to be created and it’s clear that Nathan thinks of her as little more than a progression in scientific advancement. The audience can’t help but sympathize with her desire to escape a creator who keeps her trapped and living under the threat of one day being shut off. But perhaps Caleb is too quick to trust that Ava is a helpless victim. Ex Machina combines the best of Sci-Fi and Gothic Lit to ask a very simple question; do you pity the creation or the creator when it all inevitably falls apart?

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