If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you may remember I recently review Nour Wazzi’s short film thriller Baby Mine. Now she’s back with another great short that she’s co-written, directed and co-produced. Lab Rat is an attention-grabbing sci-fi in which a group of scientists are trapped in a lab and told that they have to figure out which one of them is artificial intelligence. Alika (Kirsty Sturgess) is the daughter of the woman orchestrating it all (Edwards played by Abeo Jackson), and just happens to be in love with one of the subjects, Johnny (Matt Harris). Which means she has to stand by and watch as the heat turns up in the group.

Wazzi successfully creates a sense of dread even in such a small span of time, managing to keep your attention as things quickly escalate. It feels as if both anyone and no one could be the A.I. Edwards claims to have created the “perfect” robot, one who may not know themselves what they are. What I love about science fiction that explores A.I. is the somewhat inherent themes of identity, memories and relationships that come up which are sprinkled into Lab Rat. It brings up all those big philosophical questions about what makes us who we are as well as the ethics of the increasing technological possibility of creating A.I. that can feel and learn as a person does. The way this is approached in the film definitely adds a layer of tragedy to it, which is wonderfully emphasised by the performances.

The theme of love is also prominent in Lab Rat, and one of the best examples of how this is explored is through Alika and her mother’s relationship. Although there’s obviously compassion between them, there’s also a hint of big expectations that Edwards has of Alika, which become clearer towards the end. It’s a strange relationship and one that left me slightly cold in the best way.

Overall, I give Lab Rat a Pretty Groovy rating and would definitely recommend. It’s available to stream on Dust (https://watchdust.com/) from today, 9th July.