Lab Rat
2019 · 15m
Directed by Nour Wazzi
Genres: mystery, sci-fi, thriller
Tones: contemplative, dark, tense
Scientists in a research facility begin to suspect that one of their own may be an artificial intelligence, and paranoia takes hold.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
The paranoia-in-the-lab setup is well-trodden sci-fi territory, and Wazzi doesn't really subvert it—just executes the premise competently. It's a solid thriller, but there's no moment here that makes you question what a 'sci-fi thriller' even *is*.
Wazzi demonstrates formal control over tension and spatial grammar within the lab setting, with careful editing rhythms that situate the film in the lineage of Lem adaptations and institutional paranoia cinema; it's assured work that knows its forebears.
The real lift comes from how Wazzi uses sound design to collapse the boundary between human and artificial thought—the way mechanical hum bleeds into breathing, making the AI-among-us question less about plot and more about whether you can *hear* the difference between a person thinking and a system processing.