Tau
by Federico D’Alessandro

Kidnapping movies are always fun. Throw in a little science fiction and you should get something awesome. Sadly, I can’t call Tau an awesome film. Even with all the right ingredients, sometimes the Netflix Original cake doesn’t taste how you wanted it to in the end.

Tau sports a decent cast with Gary Oldman as the voice of the deadly, yet friendly, AI, Maika Monroe as our damsel in distress, and Ed Skrein as our dorky, billionaire villain. The plot is simple enough: a down on her luck thief gets snagged by a creepy creep-o and stashed in a prison cell in his high-tech house so that he can perform a series of strange experiments on her in order to perfect his AI project. Our damsel isn’t the only one being held captive, and after a failed escape attempt that flatlines the other two victims, our villain isn’t too pleased with her. He decides if she’s all that’s left, he’s going to have to improvise. Monroe’s character, Julia, trapped in a house designed to keep her inside, plots her next escape while developing a relationship with the AI, Tau.

As most kidnapping films go, there’s a bit of a Stockholm Syndrome feel when it comes to Julia and Tau, but you can’t help but think it really does go both ways. I mean, Tau is also held captive in a way. Alex, the villain, is just the worst. His character is annoying and you really just want to punch him in the face. Nothing about him screams psychopath, he just doesn’t seem like your typical serial killer. In a way that might be a good or creative thing, I just didn’t see it that way. I needed more of a reason to dislike him aside from the fact that he’s a weird, wealthy, loner who ran out of ideas and decided to start torturing and killing people.

I think the torture aspect could have been showcased a bit more as well. There are a lot of empty threats, but Julia is smart and for the most part behaves herself. They could have shown more of Alex’s dark side too, but I think the focus was mainly supposed to be placed on Julia and Tau’s developing relationship.

All in all, I felt bored and was left wanting more when the film was over. I would have preferred a more sinister approach to things, especially since it was given an R rating, but you can’t always get what you want. I’d say if you’re looking to pass some time, pop Tauon, but if you prefer your kidnapping horror to be a bit darker, look elsewhere.

(This review originally was published on Horror Metal Sounds.)