PROJECT FILES

This edit began with a simple question: what if the story of Ex Machina was not about Caleb trying to understand Ava, but about Ava quietly studying humanity the entire time? The original film places us almost entirely inside Caleb’s perspective. This version shifts that gravity slightly. Caleb is still our way into the experiment, but the film slowly reveals that he may never have been the one truly observing.

The first step in that shift was the opening. The original film begins by showing Caleb winning a competition and being selected. I removed that entire sequence and replaced it with a cold open from Ava’s perspective. Instead of starting with the human world and moving toward the machine, the story now begins with the machine already watching.

Several changes reinforce that shift in perspective. Caleb’s mirror inspection and self-cutting sequence was removed to keep the focus on Ava rather than questioning Caleb’s humanity.

The Kyoko reveal was restructured so the audience does not see the previous models until Ava encounters them herself, changing the revelation from Caleb's discovery into Ava confronting her own lineage.

During the final confrontation, earlier shots of Kyoko holding the knife were removed so the blade is revealed only at the instant Nathan is stabbed.

The ending was expanded with a new epilogue inspired by Alex Garland's discussion of Ava perceiving the world as patterns and signals rather than language. The world becomes outlines, motion, and structure instead of faces and expressions.

The title Glass Rooms grew from that idea. Nathan believed Ava was trapped inside a glass box. Once she enters the world, the implication is that the entire human world may simply be another glass room waiting to be observed.

Removing the Blue Book selection montage created a structural gap at the beginning of the film. To restore context without restoring the sequence, a short trailer line about Caleb winning the competition was inserted during the helicopter ride.

Several visual adjustments delayed information the original film revealed too early. One example replaces the Kyoko corridor shot with a clean corridor plate, preventing the audience from connecting her to Ava prematurely.

The Kyoko discovery sequence was simplified by removing the extended mannequin room while preserving Caleb's realization.

The knife reveal during Nathan's death was rebuilt entirely through subtraction, hiding the weapon until the instant of impact.

The reconstruction sequence replaces the original full-body sofa shot with a restrained push-in, creating a more unsettling and less voyeuristic reveal.

Additional reaction shots bridge scenes and reduce unnecessary banter.

The new ending epilogue was created outside the original film using imagery built around outlines, geometry, and signal-like motion rather than HUD graphics, suggesting Ava interprets reality through patterns instead of emotion.

Closing scenes with Ava and end credits.