Universal PicturesSome stories succeed because they’re in the right place at the right time, like a vampire movie in 2008 or a dystopian book series in 2011, or a legacyquel in 2021. But other stories are timeless and work regardless of what time they’re set in or when they are released. Star-crossed lovers, for example, or a mythical hero’s journey. But these stock stories are a curse as well as a blessing: they invite the viewer to compare what they’re watching to all the other, better, variations on the theme that came before. Unfortunately for one sci-fi movie now streaming on Hulu, what should have been the start of an anthology franchise quickly became a predictable slog for this very reason. Soulm8te was supposed to be the movie that brought back the erotic thriller. Produced by James Wan’s Atomic Monster and set within the same universe as M3GAN, it looked like the movie version of an episode of Black Mirror, with a bunch more gore and guts and slasher movie elements. Unfortunately, what we got instead was like watching Black Mirror without any of the subversion or personality. It’s no wonder it was eventually switched to a direct-to-VOD release from a full theatrical one. Soulm8te opens with young widower David (David Rhysdahl) as his robotics company is acquired by a massive conglomerate, and he’s chosen by the company to beta-test a new technology that imports its chatbot into a synthetic android. It sounds a lot like the Black Mirror episode “Be Right Back,” or the Twilight Zone episode “The Lateness of the Hour,” or the entire movie Companion. Unfortunately, the element this movie adds to make this take feel new is another big derivative trope: the “careful what you wish for” story, where the pretty girl’s affection goes too far and veers into horrific. You know, exactly the premise of Obsession, the defining horror movie of the year. Sara is unfortunately much more derivative than her spiritual sister M3GAN. | Universal PicturesWhen David eliminates the guardrails of his Soulm8te, Sara (Lily Sullivan), she quickly turns evil, attacking David’s coworkers out of jealousy and trying to prove she can be a good mom. Much like her predecessor M3GAN, her protection turns deadly, but unlike her, it’s all tinged with discourse around abusive romantic relationships. Obsession handles this by framing Nikki as the victim of mind control, but Sara is 100% at fault here. The script is almost proud of this fact. “I’m not your enemy,” one of Sara’s victims pleads. “We don’t need to be pitted against each other.” “Don’t try that girl-power sh*t with me,” Sara responds callously, sneering. Soulm8te is the movie that people assumed Obsession would be, and that’s not a compliment. Every “twist” is the obvious choice, and the messages it tries to send about AI and how that changes romance were tired even before they became relevant. Sure, all the elements of a good movie are here: there are the creative slayings like in Heart Eyes, the obsessed female lead of Obsession, the tech element of Companion, all wrapped up in a M3GAN franchise. But this is less than the sum of its parts. There’s nothing wrong with a tropey movie — the hits are the hits for a reason. But this movie isn’t a greatest hits album. It’s a bad cover band, and all it makes you want to do is revisit the original. Soulm8te is now streaming on Hulu.