Video: “iMom” isn’t a short with a brand new idea or even a totally shocking plot twist. There are many stories about what happens when a piece of technology takes over a quintessentially human function (in this case, mothering). What is great about iMom, though, is the execution.
Matilda Brown plays the robotic iMom better than what most people given that role in big budget projects can manage. And the way Ariel Martin made this film, from the composition of the shots to the music, all give it a very tense, horror vibe.
But the best part are the interstitials, featuring an ad for the iMom. They’re perfectly normal late-night ads at first, full of people talking about how the iMom changed their life. But then things get really revealing. One mum says she “wasn’t going to stop clubbing” most of the week because she had a kid. In my favourite moment, another says that it feels like she has backup for the first time, and the dad sitting next to her does a double-take.