Movies to watch on Netflix: I am Mother review

Released back in June, I am Mother is a sneaky good sci-fi thriller. It’s I am Legend meets I, Robot if you swapped Will Smith for the young and dynamic Clara Rugaard.

Digging back through the movies you might have missed throughout the year I stumbled upon I am Mother. This movie has been on my list since it was released back in June but I never got around to watching it. That changed this past week and I will say that this movie did a lot with a little.

Starring Rose Byrne (Neighbors) as the voice of Mother, and Academy Award winner Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) as well, the movie brings along with it a good bit of star power. However, it is the young lead Clara Rugaard (Teen Spirit) who gets the most face time and manages to carry the weight of the movie.

The Story

I am Mother is a story similar to I am Legend where we have one human left living on Earth for most of the movie. In this case, an apocalyptic event has destroyed all human life and several embryos were preserved to keep the human race going. A robot is running an airtight base and chooses an embryo to incubate and bring to life. We watch the little girl grow up referring to this robot as Mother, until she reaches the age where she becomes more curious than Mother may have been ready for.

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She starts to question things, push back and become curious about what is outside. This curiosity intensifies when an animal breaks into its base. The air is not supposed to be breathable so Daughter thinks this is a good sign. From there we see Mother start to take a bit of a different tone and that’s when the fun begins.

Is it scary?

It’s considered a horror movie or thriller and it does fit the bill. I compared it to I am Legend earlier but there are no zombies chasing Daughter around. The horror/thriller aspect comes from the fact that we don’t know what Mother is capable of or if there are other things at play here. We only see what Daughter sees and that is the inside of this vessel.

When Daughter starts to question her, we do too and with Mother being a robot she’s hard to read. We don’t know how far her reach is or if there are cameras she can playback to see anything in the station. We don’t know what’s going on outside of the station or if she has been telling the truth. All of this is tested and as Daughter starts taking more and more risks, the tension builds.

Thought-provoking Nature

It’s difficult to discuss without spoiling the movie but I am Mother makes several statements about humanity that make you think. It was the man who destroyed the Earth according to Mother and she was programmed to start us over and do it better. She has Daughter taking tests periodically to gauge where she is both intellectually and psychologically. It is interesting to me that Daughter is being raised alone but this is all in Mother’s plan to ensure that her teaching is leading in the right direction.

There is a twist at the end that is also worth a conversation, so this is a movie that you can definitely watch with a group of people. You can start with our 5 questions about the film.

Hidden Gem

Overall, I was incredibly impressed by I am Mother. I saw people talking about it when it was released but I don’t think it was getting the praise it deserves. It executes its vision amazingly and is the type of movie you won’t be able to look away from for fear of missing something.

If you haven’t already seen I am Mother add it to your list today. Or Mother may come looking for you.

I am Mother is currently streaming on Netflix.