Writer/Director Clarke M Smith gives us the 2025 Science Fiction treat: Greyson 2.0. It could have been titled “Karma 1.0” as the film does indeed seem somewhat karmic in nature. This short film offers a bit of fun payback after things go very awry in the Carpenter household.
Greyson 2.0 Story
The Carpenter’s decide to purchase a new robot “house helper,” aka; butler. Their son asks for one while watching The Greyson Show. Once this new addition to the home arrives, one of the family utilize an upgrade. This download has a disturbing virus.
The Greyson 2.0 Cast
Randy Davison is Greyson.
Mark Allyn is Mr Carpenter.
Grayson Lawrence is Barry Carpenter.
Ry DeGraffenreid is Jonathan Carpenter.
Lizet Benrey is Mrs Carpenter.
The Dawson Family
Lon Sierra is Mr Dawson.
Jill Sierra is Mrs Dawson.
Blake Lauer is Monty Dawson.
Let’s Talk Greyson 2.0
Somewhat coincidentally, Megan 2.0 came out in 2025 and I was under impressed. The move to “comedic” overtones left me in unhappy disbelief. Whereas Smith’s tale of Greyson, a television inspired android, was entertaining and was interesting to boot.
Randy Davison could be called a “Clarke M Smith” regular. He has worked with the film auteur a number of times. *I enjoyed his work on the anthology film Mystery Highway. * As Greyson, the android, he is the most likeable character in the entire short film. He also sells his role seamlessly.
Both Lawrence and DeGraffenreid should win awards as the most annoying siblings in a short film. Kudos to the two for convincing us that they deserve whatever their characters get.
The least likeable award goes to the Carpenter family. Especially the two sons. These siblings, who suffer the same sense of entitlement that their parents exhibit, are downright annoying.
Greyson helpfully tells the two that if they add any “mods” to his programing not to use non sanctioned software. You can almost guess how much attention is paid to this warning. *And yet, our sympathies lie with Greyson the android and not the family. Clearly a lot of money does not necessarily equate to a sensible thought process.*
It Works
Smith seems to be playing a riff here. It may well be a homage of sorts to Megan 2.0. *I have gone on record that the sequel to M3gan fell far short of its desired goal. The filmmaker’s went the comedic route and the result was a serious lack of chuckles.*
Greyson 2.0 was both comedic and darkly comedic. It felt either serendipitous or karmic; or a combination of both. We cannot go into what happens, but there is a virus involved. The lads, despite being told not to, do not use an approved mod.
DP Mauricio Navarro makes the film crisp and each frame cracks like a whip. Production Designer Shira Dina makes the whole thing look brilliant in terms of believability.
The Verdict
Greyson 2.0 is a solid 4.5 star effort. This award winning short film is still on the film festival circuit but keep an eye out for this one. *Smith’s film won Best Sci Fi at San Diego Film Week. * It is a solid story and full of some black humour. The film is well worth the wait.
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