In the new sci-fi film O Horizon, director Madeleine Rotzler presents a near-future where a grieving neuroscientist, Abby (Maria Bakalova), uses an AI service called Make a Friend to recreate her deceased father from his digital traces. The film, which premiered recently, tackles the intersection of artificial intelligence and grief, asking how technology might offer comfort—and at what cost. But as the source review notes, the movie raises questions it never fully pursues, leaving a gap between its ambition and its execution.

The Make a Friend premise: A familiar trope from Her to today's chatbots

Rotzler's world is only a gentle step ahead of our own, as the review observes. The idea of recreating a dead loved one using emails, videos, and text messages is not new—apps like Replika and Microsoft's Xiaoice already offer similar, if less advanced, grief-bots. The movie's premise echoes Spike Jonze's Her, but with a crucial difference: Abby's AI father is presented as a near-perfect copy, not a separate personality. according to the source, the film proceeds "as if this David Strathairn's voice on the other end of the phone is indeed a perfect recreation"—an assumption that feels increasingly naive in a world of hallucinating large language models.

Why O Horizon sidesteps the AI hallucination problem

Real-world AI grief chatbots are notorious for generating false memories or inappropriate responses. Yet O Horizon hardly questions the accuracy of its digital resurrection. The review points out that Abby reacts with full emotional catharsis, and the only concern voiced by other characters is that she is not moving on—not that the AI itself might be unreliable. This omission is notable, as the source states: "O Horizon isn't really all that concerned with that." The film's direction, the review argues, is a conscious choice to focus on something else, but it also limits the story's resonance.

What the monkey Dorey experiment reveals about Rotzler's optimism

Abby's day job offers a parallel:she is a neuroscientist mapping brain activity to synthesize experiences, like making someone feel full without eating. This subplot, featuring a monkey named Dorey, underscores the movie's techno-optimism. The review notes that in Rotzler's world, "the possibilities to improve human life are endless." But the darker implication—that such technology could discourage people from facing real pain—is gestured at rather than explored. The film seems to endorse Abby's AI father as a tool for growth, even as it warns of seductive simulacra.

The missing debate: Should we even want this?

The source review asks: "When faced with the film's premise, I instinctively dwelled on several, distrusting questions that O Horizon hardly even thinks to ask." Among those : Who consents to the recreation? Can a digital copy ever truly represent a person? And what happens when the subscription runs out? These ethical gaps are the biggest limitation of an otherwise compelling drama. The source concludes that while Bakalova delivers a moving performance, the film's heavy themes are handled "with too light a touch."

An echo of the real-world grief-tech debate

As companies like HereAfter AI and StoryFile commercialize posthumous digital avatars, O Horizon arrives at a moment when the line between comfort and exploitation is hotly debated.. The review's frustration mirrors that of ethicists who worry that these tools may prevent natural grieving processes. Rotzler's optimistic vision—where AI helps a daughter talk through her loss—sidesteps the messy reality of flawed algorithms and unresolved grief.