A man awakens in an android body and finds that he’s been sentenced to life in an artificial form for crimes against the Consortium. He’s released by a mysterious Priest and treks to a pro-robot settlement. Much later, a woman journeys to a settlement that’s abandoned technology and finds herself faced with a terrible choice.

You need to do a little detective work for this one. Confusingly, the first part of Adam isn’t part of the Netflix release but is available here:

Oddly that first part isn’t immensely plot heavy but does have some vital context and sets the tone for the overall piece.

This is the longest and, surprising no one, most successful of the OATS short movies. Rendered in real time via the Unity engine (who released the first part), it’s a bold and large world that feels all the more impressive for how much of the deep end we’re thrown into. Adam, played with fragile gentleness by Jason Cope, only finds out the truth of his situation at the end of the second part and it ties, thematically, strongly into the themes of Zygote, oddly, the other strongest movie in the series. Both are concerned with cruelty as economic efficiency and the offhand dystopia Adam is thrown into takes this to some fascinating extremes. There are hints this world has collapsed, hints that the Consortium are far from secure and a sense of impending doom and impending story.

Interestingly, the gear shift in part 3 speaks to that. There, Adam is replaced as the lead by Marian, played by series stalwart Carly Pope. A lot of time seems to have passed, as Marian meets the Prophet, head of a settlement that opposes all technology. Played with glacial kindness by Michael J Rogers he’s a compelling figure, asking Marian to do the impossible and rewarding her more than she dared hope for doing it. Pope is excellent and the effects, rendered in real time, are stunningly good. The ending too, and this is an ending of sorts, raises some massive questions about who the Prophet is and who’s really in control.

Verdict: Bleak, beautiful and brutal but never performatively, the ADAM trilogy is, along with Zygote, the best OATS has to offer. Make sure to see the first part as well and you’re in for a treat. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart