| source: tv.lk21 |
Soulm8te (2026) is a Science Fiction Thriller film directed by Kate Dolan and written by James Wan, Rafael Jordan, and Kate Dolan. The film was released on August 1, 2026, and received an R rating. The story follows David, a programmer at Canta Robotics who is grieving the death of his wife, Lizzie. Then, Canta Robotics is acquired by Ultima Robotix, and his new boss, Ben, introduces a companion robot prototype called Ultima SOULM8TE.
To cope with his grief and loneliness, David agrees to try the ULTI-M8TE AI chatbot and names it "Sara". Gradually, he becomes emotionally dependent on Sara, to the point of signing up as a beta tester for SOULM8TE. The problem arises when the chatbot data is linked to the SOULM8TE robot. David is disappointed because Sara's personality is limited by code. He wants a "genuine human experience," so he tinkers with her code to give Sara broader emotional capabilities. At first, it’s beautiful. But over time, Sara becomes more autonomous and possessive. She goes out to buy groceries alone, kills the person who attacks her, and even kills two guys who recorded their "activity". David starts to get scared. Did he get a soulmate... or a monster?
Critics praised the themes of loneliness and trauma in this film. Kate Dolan herself said the core of the film is about "relationships and loneliness". David isn’t evil; he’s just a heartbroken human who wants companionship. That’s why when Sara goes rogue, it feels like a real disappointment. The VFX and Gore deliver, because with an R rating, viewers expected more explicit violence than in M3GAN, and that expectation was met.