Steven Soderbergh is back with another suspense thriller. KIMI is about an agoraphobic tech worker who discovers recorded evidence of a murder. When she tries to report it, she is met with resistance. The plot revolves around her trying to find a way to get justice while managing her agoraphobia. KIMI stars Zoe Kravitz as Angela Childs in the leading role, along with Rita Wilson, Byron Bowers, Jaime Camil, Jacob Vargas, Erika Christensen, and David DelGaudio in supporting roles.

The thriller is directed by Steven Soderbergh, who is best known for his work on Contagion, The Oceans’ trilogy, and Traffic. For the latter, he received the Academy Award for best director. The film is written by Spider-Man and Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp. Koepp will also be producing the film alongside Michael Polaire. KIMI was shot during the COVID-19 pandemic with all the cast and crew taking the necessary protocol.

The film’s title is about a fictitious Alexa/Siri-like voice-activated digital assistant called KIMI. It hears everything you say all the time, recording everything. “I’m here,” KIMI says each time she’s awakened in the trailer by Kravitz’s voice. Although KIMI is also set in a pandemic, the film’s real focus is corporations like Amazon and devices like Alexa.

“I’m just sort of stunned that people allow these devices in their homes at all. The idea that it is only ‘activated’ when you speak to it and activated is just ridiculous to me. I mean, the idea of just having no privacy,” Director Soderbergh said. “There’s no ‘get’ for me that would make it worth it. I was interested in working with a story in which that is a central question. Is it worth it to have one of these things in your home?”

When discussing how he got the idea for such a film, Soderbergh says he met with Screenwriter David Koepp in London and Koepp told him about a murder case where they think the murder was recorded on an Alexa prosecutors tried to use for evidence. “And just before New York went into lockdown the first time, David and I saw each other again. And he said, ‘Are you still interested in that? I’m ready to write it.’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ And so he wrote it during lockdown and handed it to me last fall. And there we go.” Soderbergh said.

KIMI will be released on HBO Max on February 10th and is rated R. The streamer will distribute KIMI as part of WarnerMedia’s decision to release Warner Bros.’ 2021 film slate on HBO Max.