‘O Horizon’ Review – A Moving Drama That Attempts To Delay Grief Through Questionable Technology

Death is inevitable—one of the truest statements in humanity. And yet, when it arrives, there is immediate acceptance. The last phone calls, the last hugs, the last time seeing a loved one—all these moments become mere capstones that become harder to remember as time goes on. How we mourn and how we grieve is no easy answer. But what if mourning could be simplified? What if, instead of clinging to a memory, one needed only to make a simple phone call and talk to their loved one again? Would it change the perception of life and death and what it means to grieve?

O Horizon attempts to answer these questions, though not always coherently. The film wrestles with the current moment in digital and artificial intelligence and what it actually means to be human. It lacks a depth of understanding and curiosity about these larger themes, while still telling a compelling story of grief.

We first meet Abby (Maria Bakalova), a neuroscientist working with a monkey named Dorey. Her beloved father, Warren (David Strathairn), has recently died, leaving her to wallow in her grief. By chance, she meets a developer (Adam Pally) working on futuristic technology that lets someone call their deceased loved one and communicate as if they were still alive. The state-of-the-art software allows her father’s disembodied voice to be a source of comfort and later reflection. Soon, she begins to question everything from her relationships to her life’s work.

Now, O Horizon deserves props for being a big-ideas film. The rapid pace of technological change is astonishing and frightening. A film showing how one’s loved one can be digitized into a voice one can call and speak to, and vice versa, is compelling. Abby uses the phone calls as a source of coming to terms with her father’s passing. When the film fixates on these communications between father and daughter, the story is quite stirring and deeply introspective.

The ability to process death changes when one only needs to use a program to talk to them again. Now, there are moral, philosophical, and even ethical lines to consider. O Horizon is not interested in making the story about these ideas. There is one scene in particular that dabbles with it. Abby’s boyfriend, Douglas (Avi Nash), receives a phone call from the artificially resurrected dad, and he is disturbed not by the fact that technology exists but by Warren’s intervention in their lives as though he were still alive.

The story manages to tangentially elaborate on the ethical and moral concerns of prolonging one’s existence, even through artificial means. If such technology exists, how would it affect the grieving process? These are questions more for the audience to ponder. The film keeps its focus on Abby as she tries to reorient her life, both personally and professionally. As the world continues to change at a record pace, it is not beyond the realm of possibility to imagine such a technology existing in the future. The questions we should ask ourselves (that the movie does not) are: to what end, and should technology even exist?

As a sci-fi film, the story is more cute than cutting edge. To further the point, the film features an appearance by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, who connects with Abby while out in the country. Again, this element, while clever, continues the film’s dance as a coming-of-age drama, registering some statement about humanity. It flirts with the big-picture questions of life and death, but keeps the focus more on the characters, specifically Abby. Performance-wise, Bakalova strikes a poignant note. She and Strathairn pair exceptionally well, and their communication is among the film’s strongest moments.

Grief is the central tenet of the film’s existence, and, insofar as a story about the loss of a loved one, many will recognize the lengths and measures taken to confront and reconcile grief. While a more in-depth look into the dangers of these technologies, or even the ethical considerations, feels necessary at this time, O Horizon does not necessarily paint the future with a broad brush. Instead, it weaves a beautiful story of life, death, and moving forward.

O Horizon will debut exclusively in theaters in New York on June 12, 2026, courtesy of Variance Films. The film will expand to Los Angeles on June 19th, followed by additional markets in the following weeks.

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