The topic of AI is deeply prevalent throughout much of society, and it's something director and writer Madeleine Rotzler has plenty to say about in O Horizon, which is playing in limited theaters. The story follows Abby, played by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Maria Bakalova, a brilliant young neuroscientist who utilizes a new AI chatbot to recreate her recently deceased father.
The movie premiered at the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 2, 2025, and is now in theaters. Alongside Bakalova, O Horizon also stars Adam Pally (Sam), David Strathairn (Warren), Maggie Grace (Evan), Alysia Reiner (Dr. Sandra Williams), and Ponies' Nicholas Podany (Anton).
The Direct sat down with Bakalova and Pally to discuss the movie's exploration of AI and how it can both help and hinder society.
What Are the Downsides & Upsides of Using AI To Assist With Grief?
There's Good and Bad That Comes With AI, But Perhaps a Balance Is All We Need
- The Direct: "The movie is about Abby going in and creating this AI chatbot to basically bring back to life her father, who she lost. What do you think are the downsides of someone going and creating an AI chatbot to recreate a loved one like that?"
Maria Bakalova: So many, and yet not enough to have a clear decision to not do it. I think that's why the movie, in my opinion, is beautiful, and it's working, because it's not judgmental in a world where we judge everything too much. It doesn't necessarily take sides in extremes. I think this tool helps Abby quite a bit, because at the end of the day, she overcomes that feeling. She goes down a rabbit hole, but then I think that was the same, like when you hit the button, there is only one way, so I think it's been needed for her. I think it's scary to play with that.
According to Bakalova, the concept of O Horizon seemed far more sci-fi during filming, in that it mirrors reality almost a little too closely:
Bakalova: I think back in 2022, when we did the movie, when we saw the film, the film felt quite like a sci-fi movie about AI in the near future. Nowadays, it feels like real life. AI has been improving so much, not always, I don't know, bringing benefits to us, but not always taking stuff from us as well. If we can find a balance, if we can work with it in order to help us, I think it might be good to have anything.
In O Horizon, Abby's AI chatbot of her recently deceased father is used as a tool to help her cope with and move through grief. Bakalova doesn't believe her character would have ever been able to truly move on without its help:
Bakalova: Abby kind of like uses the best of [the AI chatbot] and manages to stop when she has to stop, when she sees that actually influences her life and takes her further away from reality and her present real relationships, but it's something that without it I don't think she would have been able to escape the silence that she's been [dealing with]... I'm not necessarily against it, I'm quite scared to say it, but I think we have to be careful with how we use certain technologies, but they're not always bad.
Adam Pally, also known for his work on the Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff series Knuckles, was a little harsher about the film's AI chatbot. He "think[s] sometimes people forget that AI is one-sided when you're talking about a chatbot:"
Adam Pally: I think the downside is that AI is, I think sometimes people forget that AI is one-sided when you're talking about a chatbot, an AI assistant... Any conversation that you have with AI is one-sided. That's why it has that weird tone... If you've ever asked AI, like, who's the best basketball player on the planet, they usually do this sort of thing where they're like, well, I can't give you a definitive thing, but I can say that that's a great question to have... It's all kind of not real human interaction.
At the end of the day, Pally believes that while an AI chatbot of a recently lost loved one could, in theory, help in some ways, it's just "setting yourself up for more false illusions that the person is not gone:"
Pally: There are stats, and there are truths that they're pulling from the internet, and they're amalgamating, but it's a one-sided conversation, and while that may be helpful sometimes, like through therapy, or for deep deep grief, or even just for, like, the need to hear someone's voice. In essence, I feel like it's kind of a negative, and that it's just setting yourself up for more false illusions that the person is not gone. I just keep having this thought [during the movie] of like, [Is Abby's] dad gonna die every time the internet goes out?
How O Horizon Can Help Audiences Through Grief
"It Shows Us How We Move Forward In Life."
- The Direct: "This film heavily explores grief and the process of dealing with it and adapting to its presence in your life. How do you hope this movie will help viewers in understanding their own process in dealing with grief in potentially new ways?"
Maria Bakalova: I think the movie explores grief and relationships and loss and sadness, but it's a hopeful movie. I think it's a hopeful story, and it's uplifting, and it shows us how we move forward in life. Life is never straight; it goes up and down, and up and down, and I think that's why people say it's the wheel of life. So you kind of have to remember that too shall pass.
Bakalova offered the advice that "sometimes it's just okay to be sad, and it's something that you have to feel in order to continue:"
Bakalova: People say that a lot of times, and you just have to accept the feelings that you feel. And I remember in the beginning of the rehearsals and conversations that we had, Madeleine and I connected on the point that sometimes it's just okay to be sad, and it's something that you have to feel in order to continue. I think it's important to see something like this, because again, we all can relate to missing someone and feeling grief, but it's a beautiful cinematic reminder, which is why I, in the beginning, started doing what I'm doing, telling stories. That is kind of an easier way to see your feelings and your life, your cinematic picture, your picture is beautiful...
One thing the actress loves about O Horizon is how it "asks more questions than answers:"
Bakalova: [Abby's a] freaking neuroscientist, somebody that does so many crazy, nerdy cool stuff, but at the same time she also feels the way that I feel, and she also has a lot of questions, and I think that's also something that I really love about the film, that asks more questions than answers.
Despite his opinions on AI, Adam Pally admitted that "maybe something like this could help people who are stricken with grief:"
Adam Pally: Well, I think that's the hopeful side of the movie, right? Is that maybe something like this could help people who are kind of stricken with grief or paralyzing grief, and I think the thing with grief is, as someone's just experienced it, is that there is no playbook for it. It's individual. Grief is as individual as the person experiencing it. So, you know, I don't think there is anything from it. I think in desperate times—like for me, I would much rather hear a recording or see a video of a loved one than have some sort of interaction with them that feels like too much for my brain, especially when I know the interaction is coming from, like, a coded program.
