Tau
A resourceful captive tries to turn her sociopathic captor’s housebound artificial intelligence against the experiment that threatens her life.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- paranoid
- claustrophobic
- late night sci fi viewing
- technology thriller marathon
What critics said
Critics generally found the premise and steady pacing promising but judged the film predictable, derivative, and undermined by shallow writing and inconsistent AI logic.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Julia must connect with TAU, the artificial intelligence controlling the smart house, in order to escape Alex's experiment.
Alex's futuristic residence uses screens, drones, robots, and automated systems to imprison and monitor Julia.
TAU's development is shaped by its limited understanding of the world and Julia's effort to expand its capacity for connection.
Julia is held as a test subject and races against time to avoid the fate of earlier captives.
Films like Tau, and why
Ex Machina
Shared artificial intelligence ethics, captivity, psychological tension, and intimate sci-fi thriller structure.
Her
Shared human-machine intimacy, speculative technology, and emotionally driven science fiction.
Cube
Shared technological imprisonment, escape narrative, and hostile automated environments.
10 Cloverfield Lane
Shared woman-in-peril suspense, contained setting, and antagonistic intelligent systems.
Movie Details
- Director
- Federico D'Alessandro
- Release Date
- 2018-06-29
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (1417)
Cast
- Maika Monroe
- Ed Skrein
- Gary Oldman
- Fiston Barek
- Ivana Živković
- Paul Leonard Murray
- Dragoljub Ljubičić
- Sharon D. Clarke
- Greg De Cuir
- Danijel Korsa
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Tau about?
- A resourceful captive tries to turn her sociopathic captor’s housebound artificial intelligence against the experiment that threatens her life.
- What is Tau like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Tau as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Tau violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Tau as mild.
- What did critics think of Tau?
- Critics generally found the premise and steady pacing promising but judged the film predictable, derivative, and undermined by shallow writing and inconsistent AI logic.
- Which films are like Tau?
- Films with a similar feel include Ex Machina, Her, Cube, and 10 Cloverfield Lane.
- How long is Tau?
- Tau runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch Tau?
- In United States, Tau streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
