David Farnor | On 20, Jun 2018

“I have been instructed to inflict pain should you not comply with my commands.” That’s the sound of the house from hell in Netflix’s new thriller, TAU.

Snapped up by Netflix last year, the movie pits Maika Monroe (It Follows) against a smart home. She plays Julia, a street-smart grifter who is the latest young woman held captive as part of a fatal experiment. The only thing standing in the way of her freedom? TAU, the advanced artificial intelligence developed in secret by Alex, her masochistic and enigmatic captor. Can she befriend the AI program and get it on her side?

Written by Noga Landau (TV’s The Magicians), the film is directed by Federico D’Alessandro, making his feature debut after working on everything from Ant-Man and Doctor Stranger to Thor and Where the Wild Things Are. Monroe is joined in front of the camera by Ed Skrein and Gary Oldman.

The film premieres on Netflix on Friday 29th June. Here’s the trailer:

 

TAU is available on Netflix UK, as part of an £9.99 monthly subscription.

 

Netflix nabs smart house thriller TAU, starring Maika Monroe and Gary Oldman

4th November 2017

Netflix has nabbed the rights to high-concept thriller TAU, which pits Maika Monroe against an evil smart house.

From producer David S. Goyer and director Federico D’Alessandro, the artist responsible for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most iconic visual sequences, the thriller also stars Ed Skrein and Gary Oldman.

Monroe, who impressed in both It Follows and The Guest, plays Julia, a street-smart grifter who is the latest young woman held captive as part of a fatal experiment. The only thing standing in the way of her freedom is TAU, the advanced artificial intelligence developed in secret by Alex, her masochistic and enigmatic captor. TAU is armed with a battalion of drones and robots that automate Alex’s futuristic smart house and laboratory, the walls lined with screens that visually transport it from grassy plains to the depths of space.

TAU’s potential is only limited by his understanding of the world he exists in, but TAU is ready for more. Julia, showing resourcefulness and courage, must race against time to bridge the boundaries between man and machine, connect to TAU and win her freedom, before she suffers the same fate as the six other subjects who came before her.

Written by Noga Landau (TV’s The Magicians), the film is produced by Hercules Film Fund and Ken Kao’s Waypoint Entertainment, with Goyer’s Phantom Four banner producing alongside Russell Ackerman and John Schoenfelder for Addictive Pictures and Kevin Turen. It marks D’Alessandro directorial debut, after work on everything from Ant-Man and Doctor Stranger to Thor and Where the Wild Things Are.

The film was snapped up by Netflix in a deal with Endeavour Content, brokered by Bloom Media and announced at the American Film Market.

Photo: Bloom Media

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