Simulant (film)

Simulant is a 2023 Canadian science fiction thriller film directed by April Mullen. It stars Robbie Amell, Jordana Brewster, Simu Liu, Alicia Sanz, and Sam Worthington. The film was released on April 7, 2023.

Premise
A woman named Faye tries to replace her newly deceased husband, Evan, with a humanoid simulant. The simulant enlists a global hacker to remove all restrictions on his thoughts and capabilities, triggering an A.I. uprising and a government manhunt to eliminate the rise of the machine consciousness.

Production
In September 2021, Luke Grimes was announced to star. In December 2021, Sam Worthington and Jordana Brewster were added to the cast. In early 2022, Grimes dropped out of the project while Robbie Amell, Alicia Sanz, and Simu Liu joined the cast. Filming was underway in the Toronto area by February 2022.

Release
Simulant was released theatrically in Canada by Mongrel Media on April 7, 2023. It was released in the United States on the DirecTV streaming service by Vertical Entertainment on May 5, followed by a theatrical release on June 2.

Reception
In reviewing the film for The New York Times, Elisabeth Vincentelli wrote, "Whenever it tries to go for action, Simulant comes up short... nobody will mistake this for Blade Runner. The film is on much firmer ground as a relationship drama, in the vein of the British series Humans, where the artificial creations are called 'synths'."