WFG RATING: B

Vision Films presents a Foyle River Films production. Written and directed by Derry Shillitto. Produced by Ashley Carter, Luke Radford, and Derry Shillitto. Cinematography by Will J. Carman. Edited by Luke Radford.

Stars Sonny Middleton, Elleese Bradshaw, Kirsty Smedley, Ziad Abizi, Zak Hopkinson, Niamh Gregroy, Sonny Lake, Esmee Matthews, Jonny Phillips, and the voice of Bella Ramsey.

A group of teen delinquents learn the horrifying truth about their shot at redemption in this tense and thrilling film from director Derry Shillitto.

Shawn O’Connor has spent the last three months at a juvenile facility with his girlfriend Tish Murphy after robbing and assaulting a man. However, Shawn, Tish, and other delinquents are transferred to the J Manual facility, who are attempting to make the teens the first group in using an AI program, nTrac, as a means to rehabilitate the kids to suppress their violent tendencies.

At first, the program seems to be slowly working, especially for Shawn, whose life of crime comes from the fact he is trying to somehow help his drug addicted mom. However, when something terrible happens, Shawn temporarily escapes from the facility and is ambushed by a few local thugs. Things soon are revealed when nTrac and James, the man in charge of the program, has something else in mind for the teens. Something that could be potentially deadlier than the world they live in now. 

There has been great debate about the world of artificial intelligence as of late. Is AI good? Is AI bad? While there is no definitive answer, there can be both pros and cons and it is that double-edged sword that is presented in this film, marking the directorial debut of Derry Shillitto. 

The use of the AI module of the film, nTrac, starts out as a positive as it tends to make its purpose known of getting to know our teen delinquents and help them somewhat suppress their violent rages. This comes especially in the case of our lead Shawn, excellently played by Sonny Middleton. Shawn comes from a very bad background involving a drug addicted parent and a very broken home. However, through nTrac, he slowly begins to suppress his violent rage and has potential for being a positive member of society. 

The first half of the film seems a bit sluggish but it is understandable, However, once things kick in with nTrac, voiced by The Last of Us’s Bella Ramsey, it slowly picks up showing the positive aspects of what AI can do. However, one cannot simply blame AI itself in terms of its cons. In this case, when the sinister plans are revealed this leads to Ziad Abaza’s James to make nTrac more negative in what he hopes to achieve and affect not only our teens, but even those who work with him and learning this is not what they signed up for. This leads to a shocking conclusion that shows the cons of AI and its impact on the world.

The Correction Unit is a really good film that may seem like a typical sci-fi thriller. However, its message is clear is that there are both positive and negative aspects of artificial intelligence as we know it. And it’s not so much the concept that’s the issue, it’s about the intention. Definitely one to check out.

The film is currently on Digital.