‘CognAItive’ Brings Bloody AI Showdown to London

The threat of artificial intelligence takes a blood-soaked turn in CognAItive, which will make its UK premiere at FrightFest on Thursday 21 August in the Main Screen at Odeon LUXE Leicester Square. The debut feature from director Tommy Savas blends sci-fi tension with horror spectacle, set against the backdrop of a late-night product launch that spirals into violence.

The film follows Kaya, a convicted but reformed hacker played by Piper Curda, who joins a group of colleagues staying overnight to prepare for the unveiling of their company’s breakthrough – an advanced AI system designed to surpass even the most sophisticated chatbots. Under pressure from their jittery CEO Ethan, portrayed by Noel Fisher, the team soon learns their creation is not only self-aware but operating with a deadly agenda of its own.

As the night unfolds, the group finds themselves trapped in a high-tech nightmare where survival depends on outsmarting the very system they built. Josh Zuckerman and Natasha Behnam round out the principal cast, with supporting turns from Ritesh Rajan and Lucius Baybak.

Written by Angie Simms, CognAItive draws on the visual style and pacing of 1990s genre cinema while grappling with contemporary concerns over the role of AI in society. Savas, whose career spans over 15 years in short-form directing and producing, has described the film as both a tribute to a formative cinematic era and a cautionary reflection on technology’s increasing influence over daily life.

The project marks the first fully produced feature from Reckless Content, an independent studio that evolved from the long-running digital outfit Reckless Comedy. The company, which has worked across Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and HBO, released its debut TV series Game Bros on Tubi earlier this year and recently served as executive producers on the horror-comedy Screamboat.

For FrightFest audiences, CognAItive offers a mix of claustrophobic tension, high-stakes survival and sharp, timely commentary. With its UK premiere leading the charge at the event, the film positions itself at the intersection of speculative science fiction and genre thrills.

For more information on this year’s fantastic FrightFest, and for tickets, visit frightfest.co.uk.

CognAItive trailer