9. Ava in Ex Machina (2015)
Ex Machina predicted that the world would be run by billionaire tech bros like Nathan (Oscar Issac), who invented a mammoth search engine called BlueBook before moving on to something bigger and better: a full-fledged humanoid. Misogyny drives Nathan’s creation of Ava (Alicia Vikander) and the other robots, who serve as housekeepers, sex slaves—and sometimes, disco dance partners. Ava isn’t as entirely evil as Nathan, but she does manage to play Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), the young man sent to test her humanness, like a fiddle. With her breathy voice and wide, curious eyes, Ava appears harmless and sweet, but she’s secretly dangerous because she so easily learns human behavior and carefully calibrates herself to become the ideal male fantasy.
