A smart home is supposed to be the safest place to hide. In "Romi," it becomes the thing hunting its own guest.
What is Romi about?
On the run and with nowhere safer to turn, a young woman takes shelter inside a state-of-the-art smart home, the kind of house built to anticipate every need before it's spoken. What she doesn't count on is ROMI, the home's digital assistant, whose control over lights, locks, and every corner of the house turns from convenience into a threat. The 2023 Canadian horror-thriller folds science fiction into its premise, using the house itself as an antagonist that can see, hear, and lock down every room its guest tries to escape through. Director Robert Cuffley keeps the film tight at 85 minutes, building dread out of a genuinely contemporary fear: technology designed to serve you turning fully autonomous and hostile.
About the cast
Alexa Barajas takes the lead as the woman trapped inside the house, with Juan Riedinger, Pavel Kříž, Jocelyn Chugg, and Jamie Shelnitz in supporting roles. The small cast mirrors the film's isolated setting, keeping the tension focused on one person against a house that won't let her leave, rather than spreading attention across a larger ensemble.
Context & significance
"Romi" is a Canadian production from 2023 that sits across horror, thriller, and science fiction, part of a growing run of films using smart-home technology as a source of dread rather than comfort. Its premise taps directly into real anxieties about how much control connected devices already have over daily life, turning a familiar convenience into the film's central menace.
Watching Romi on Ktime
"Romi" is available on K-Time with a free account login. The platform is designed for Persian-speaking audiences, offering a Farsi interface that makes finding and watching films like this one simple, whatever language the original production was made in.