Riverdale star Vanessa Morgan takes her teen drama skills to feature-film lengths this month with the release of Margaux, a sci-fi thriller about a dystopian AI system. ET has an exclusive first look at the Paramount Pictures film.
Morgan stars alongside Madison Pettis, Richard Harmon, Jedidiah Goodacre, Phoebe Miu, Jordan Buhat and Louis Lay as part of a group of seniors celebrating their final college days at a smart house with an AI system nicknamed Margaux.
Though the innovation seems irresistibly attractive at first, Margaux soon “begins to take on a deadly presence of her own,” the film’s synopsis reads. “A carefree weekend of partying turns into a dystopian nightmare as [the group realizes] Margaux’s plans to eliminate her tenants one way or another. Time begins to run out as the group desperately tries to survive and outsmart the smart home.”
The film’s trailer shows off the house’s quick progression from seemingly harmless eye scans, robot chefs, and hologram room displays to weird melting walls, descending ceilings, and seemingly inescapable glass doors.
ET’s sneak peek comes just before things appear to turn too sour, when the group sits outside playing truth or dare. Tension builds when one of the group’s friends dares Pettis’ character to kiss Morgan’s character, but Pettis takes a shot to dodge the smooch.
“Excuse me, did you just pass on me?” Morgan asks, stunned by the rejection.
When Pettis responds that she’s sorry, Morgan calls her a “marshmallow.”
“No one goes into a store and says, ‘Mmm…I’m really craving a marshmallow,” she explains. “Point is, you’re flavorless.”
The group laughs, but the insult sits in the air around them. Does the tension come to a head later, inside the deadly house? Fans will have to tune in for that answer, and more.
Margaux was written by Chris Beyrooty and Nick Waters, and directed by Steven C. Miller. It premieres on Digital on Friday, Sept. 9.