Why is this disruptive? Ex Machina opens on page 1 with an inciting incident in which Caleb wins a one-week trip to stay at Nathan, the tech CEO’s isolated, palatial home… but he doesn’t know there’s a reason for the summons. From the get-go, there’s an air of creepy mystery to it.

How does this ignite the story? The challenge that Caleb is presented with here also happens to be the thematic and ethical question that’s explored over the duration of the movie.

Note that Garland piques our interest with a question. “Do you know what the Turing Test is?” This helps define EXACTLY what is to transpire over the course of the story… which also engages our sense of anticipation.