top of page
Search

Kate Dolan on SOULM8TE, Reviving Erotic Thrillers, and Why AI Should Scare Us

  • Aug 4
  • 3 min read
Two women in a sunlit studio, one in a cap and headphones gesturing while talking; the other smiles in a silver top.
Lily Sullivan and Kate Dolan in SOULM8TE

By Shannon McGrew


In SOULM8TE, David (David Rysdahl), a grieving engineer, is tasked with testing a ruthless tech giant’s new artificially intelligent android. But when he attempts to program her to be a truly sentient soulmate, she develops needs of her own, unleashing a relentless spree of precision-engineered mayhem. What starts as an erotic thriller quickly unravels into a fight for survival. 


For the release of SOULM8TE, Creepy Kingdom’s Shannon McGrew spoke with director Kate Dolan. During their interview, they discussed everything from reviving erotic thrillers to casting Lily Sullivan and David Rysdahl, as well as the real-world fears surrounding artificial intelligence.


Thank you so much for speaking with me today, Kate. Erotic thrillers have become relatively uncommon in this day and age. What excited you about stepping into this type of film?


Kate Dolan: When I was first approached by Atomic Monster and Blumhouse to do this, it was towards the end of 2023, and even back then I think even fewer erotic thrillers were out. I remember watching Fatal Attraction and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle with my mom when I was growing up, and she loved those kinds of movies. On Friday nights, we would rent them and watch and kind of laugh at how silly it was, but then be really gripped by it. It’s a genre that I have a soft spot for, and I love. So when they said the logline was going to be like Fatal Attraction with an android, I was intrigued and drawn in by the concept. 


Two crew members in a dim studio review papers at a desk, one wearing headphones; monitors, keyboard, tools, and cables surround them.
David Rysdahl and Kate Dolan in SOULM8TE

Lily Sullivan and David Rysdahl play off each other perfectly. What was it about Lily and David that made you feel that they were the right actors to tell the story?


Kate Dolan: David was cast first, and he had the perfect energy to feel really real; he felt like a real person and a real guy who could be a robotics engineer. He had this look in his eyes that you just felt for him. The thing with this script was always: how was an audience going to feel about David? Because he does transgress and he does kind of do the bad thing. We needed an actor who really could keep the audience on his side. You really felt for him, and you understood why he’s doing what he’s doing. David brought a lot of humanity and authenticity. 


For the role of Sarah, we wanted to meet people in person for physicality. Lily has a physicality and a way about her that I feel like when she walks into a room, everyone’s obsessed with her. It was a unique experience to cast Lily cause she’s kind of unbelievable. She’s like superwoman. She put in so much thought into the prep of Sarah as a character and the movement and everything. She was perfect. 


SOULM8TE explores both the promise and the danger of AI. After making the film, do you find yourself feeling more optimistic or more cautious about where technology is headed? 


Kate Dolan: I’m always someone who would be more cautious, I think. When I was writing the script, I read a lot of books about AI, which I kind of wish I hadn’t read. It’s basically like this unstoppable force that we can’t really do a lot about now because the cat’s out of the bag. The whole message of the movie is that we need to connect with each other again so we don't get tied down by these things that disconnect us and pull us apart, and just reach out to the people around you and connect again because that’s the only way you can survive. That was always the underlying thread in the movie. I’m also an optimist, so I hope that we can make it as a world (Laughs)


SOULM8TE is available now to watch at home on digital retail platforms.



bottom of page