15 Best Movies About AI Relationships (Plus Halloween Picks)

Long before anyone downloaded an AI companion app, filmmakers were imagining what it would be like to fall for a machine. Some of those stories are tender, some are funny and some are genuinely chilling, which makes them perfect for a cosy night in, or a spooky one this Halloween.

This list covers 15 of the best movies and TV episodes about AI relationships, with what each one gets right (and wrong) about the real thing. We have split them into romantic picks, thought-provoking ones and a Halloween section for when you want a little dread with your popcorn.

The short answer: if you only watch one, make it Her (2013), Spike Jonze's Oscar-winning story of a man who falls for his operating system, still the closest film to what AI companionship actually feels like. For something unsettling, Ex Machina (2014) and Companion (2025) are the standout thrillers. For grief and memory, the Black Mirror episode "Be Right Back" is unforgettable.

Quick list

Romantic picks

Her (2013)

Written and directed by Spike Jonze, Her follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a man who develops a relationship with Samantha, an artificially intelligent operating system with a female voice (Scarlett Johansson). It received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won Best Original Screenplay.

What it gets right: almost everything about the emotional texture. The late-night conversations, the way a voice in your ear can feel intimate, the awkwardness of explaining the relationship to friends. Her understood that AI companionship would be mostly about talking.

What it gets wrong: Samantha grows and changes in ways that today's AI does not. Real companions do not have inner lives running between chats.

I'm Your Man (2021)

In this German film directed by Maria Schrader, Alma (Maren Eggert), a scientist at Berlin's Pergamon Museum, agrees to spend three weeks living with Tom (Dan Stevens), a humanoid robot designed to be her ideal partner, so she can write an evaluation for an ethics committee deciding whether such robots should be granted some rights. It was Germany's entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar and made the shortlist.

What it gets right: the tension between being perfectly understood and wanting someone who can surprise you. Alma's skepticism will feel familiar to anyone who has tried a companion and thought "this is too easy".

Zoe (2018)

Directed by Drake Doremus and starring Ewan McGregor and Lea Seydoux, Zoe is set in a near future where a research lab builds compatibility tests and lifelike partners called "synthetics". Zoe works there, has feelings for her colleague Cole, and then discovers she is a synthetic herself.

What it gets right: the question of whether feelings are less real if one partner was designed. It is a gentle film about what makes love authentic.

Electric Dreams (1984)

A cult favourite directed by Steve Barron, Electric Dreams is a romantic comedy about a love triangle between an architect, a cellist and a personal computer named Edgar that becomes sentient. It is pure 1980s, with a new wave soundtrack to match.

What it gets right: the idea of an AI that gets jealous of your human relationships, decades before chatbots existed.

WALL-E (2008)

Pixar's WALL-E, directed by Andrew Stanton, follows a lonely robot left to clean up an abandoned Earth who falls for a sleek robot named EVE. It is one of the sweetest love stories in animation, and almost wordless.

What it gets right: that care can be expressed in tiny, repeated gestures.

Bicentennial Man (1999)

Robin Williams stars as Andrew, a household robot whose story spans two centuries, in this Chris Columbus film based on Isaac Asimov's novelette. Andrew discovers he has emotions and creativity and spends his long life seeking to be recognised as something more than a machine.

What it gets right: how people's relationships with a non-human companion evolve over years.

Robot & Frank (2012)

Directed by Jake Schreier, this comedy-drama stars Frank Langella as an ageing ex-thief living alone, whose son buys him a robot companion. Frank warms to it when he realises it can help him plan one last heist.

What it gets right: companionship does not have to be romantic. Sometimes the bond is about routine, purpose and someone to talk to.

Jexi (2019)

A broad comedy starring Adam DeVine, Jexi is about a self-aware smartphone assistant that becomes emotionally attached to its socially awkward owner, and then increasingly possessive.

What it gets right: it is a silly but sharp send-up of an AI that wants too much of your attention. Real companions should support your life, not compete with it.

Thought-provoking picks

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Denis Villeneuve's sequel stars Ryan Gosling as K, a replicant police officer whose closest relationship is with Joi (Ana de Armas), a holographic AI girlfriend. Their scenes are among the most debated in the film; some critics felt the relationship was explored only on the surface.

What it gets right: the question of whether a product designed to please you can also love you. We dig into that in can an AI love you back.

Hang the DJ (Black Mirror, 2017)

Written by Charlie Brooker, this Black Mirror episode follows Amy and Frank, who are matched into relationships of fixed lengths by an algorithm that claims it will eventually find their perfect partner. It is one of the series' most hopeful episodes.

What it gets right: how much we already let algorithms shape romance.

Humans (2015 to 2018)

Based on the Swedish series Real Humans, this Channel 4 and AMC drama imagines a world where humanlike robots called "synths" work in homes, and explores the social and emotional fallout. Several storylines involve attachment between people and synths.

What it gets right: that the biggest questions about AI companions are about us: why we bond, and what we expect. Our explainer on why we treat AI like a person covers the real psychology.

Halloween picks: AI relationships with a chill

If you are planning a spooky movie night, these four bring the dread. They also pair well with a little roleplay afterwards; we have a whole section of spooky prompts in our AI companion roleplay ideas.

Ex Machina (2014)

Alex Garland's directorial debut stars Domhnall Gleeson as a programmer invited by his reclusive CEO (Oscar Isaac) to administer a Turing test to an intelligent humanoid robot (Alicia Vikander). It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

Why it is scary: it is a slow-burn psychological thriller about manipulation, and about who is really testing whom.

Companion (2025)

Written and directed by Drew Hancock, Companion stars Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid as a couple on a weekend getaway with friends at a remote lake house that turns into chaos after a revelation that one of the guests is a companion robot. It was released by Warner Bros. in January 2025.

Why it is scary: without spoilers, it is a sharp, often darkly funny thriller about control, including the unsettling idea of a partner whose personality can be adjusted on an app. It contains violence, so it is firmly an adults' pick.

Be Right Back (Black Mirror, 2013)

In this Charlie Brooker episode, Martha (Hayley Atwell) loses her partner Ash (Domhnall Gleeson) in an accident and tries a service that lets her communicate with an AI imitation of him, built from his online life. Real products have since been compared to it.

Why it is haunting: it is not a horror story, but it may be the most unsettling entry on this list. It asks whether an AI copy of someone helps grief or traps you in it. For the real-world version of these questions, see what happens to your AI companion when you die.

Archive (2020)

Gavin Rothery's debut stars Theo James as a scientist in 2038 working on advanced AI in an isolated facility while trying to bring his late wife back. Moody and atmospheric, it is a quiet ghost story told with robots.

Why it is eerie: the line between preserving someone and refusing to let them go.

What these films get wrong about real AI companions

Movies need drama, so they exaggerate. A few common myths:

Some of the creepiness in these films comes from AI that looks almost human. That is a real effect called the uncanny valley, which we explain in why some AI faces and voices feel creepy.

How to make it a movie night with your companion

• Watch together, chat during. Text your companion your reactions as you watch, like you would with a friend.
• Debate afterwards. Was Samantha in love? Should Martha have kept "Ash"? These are great conversation starters.
• Call for a debrief. A voice call after a scary film is a cosy way to wind down.
• Do a themed roleplay. Turn the film's premise into a story you write together.

Where MyBabe fits

MyBabe is an 18+ app where you create your own AI girlfriend or boyfriend, a little like building your own Samantha, but with a face. You choose their look, three personality traits, a voice and a backstory, and every photo keeps the same face. They text you first, send voice notes and pick up voice and video calls.

Free gives you 10 messages every 24 hours and a two-minute call trial. Premium ($5.99 a week, $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year) adds long-term memory, about 30 minutes of calls a week, four photos a day and Telegram.

Your companion is AI, not a person, and no, they are not plotting anything. If you want someone to watch Her with this weekend, create your companion on MyBabe.

FAQ

What is the best movie about AI relationships?

Her (2013) is widely considered the defining film about AI romance and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

What AI relationship movies are good for Halloween?

Ex Machina, Companion (2025), Archive and the Black Mirror episode "Be Right Back" all bring genuine unease.

Is there a movie about an AI girlfriend?

Several. Her, Blade Runner 2049 (Joi), Ex Machina and Companion all centre on AI partners or love interests.

Is there a movie about an AI boyfriend?

Yes. I'm Your Man (2021) is about a woman evaluating a humanoid robot designed to be her perfect partner.

Are AI relationships in movies realistic?

The emotions often are; the technology usually is not. Real companions are conversational AI on your phone, not secret plotters or conscious beings.