Being with your family can be a wonderful experience for some. For others, it means unpacking trauma, expectations and disappointments every single time. Such is the case of Ali (Djanis Bouzyani) and Leila (Myriem Akheddiou), siblings, who visit their mother Nadia (Saadia Bentaïeb) after she has been released from hospital. They never visited her during her stay. A fact that will result in many angry quips at the lunch table, and a bloody showdown.

With a runtime of just 19 minutes, Blood Ties offers a clever mix of comedy and horror. Upon their arrival at Nadia’s front door, Ali and Leila are greeted by Elyo (Adrien Dantou), a wax-faced, mannequin-like house robot with perfect wavy hair, their mother’s surprising new acquisition. After all, she remarks, nobody came to see her. Nobody was there when she fell and couldn’t get up.

Atoui does not pick sides. Rather, he paints all three human players in a rather unflattering light. The mother thinks little of her children and their choices in life, but expects all the love and attention she can possibly claim for herself. She has shared a lot of sensitive information about them with Elyo, without much regard for data privacy. Leila is scared of c ommitment and wants to raise a child on her own. Ali wants to become an aid worker to Gaza. He has a sharp tongue, and no shortage of snide comments about Elyo.

The siblings verbally abuse the robot, raising questions about the ethics of artificial intelligence. Ali finds enjoyment in toying with the machine’s ability to grasp sarcasm, threats and family animosities. Programmed to protect Nadia, the quick-witted exchange of unpleasantries soon becomes a gory showdown. It is during these most visceral scenes that the art of hating your family changes from emotion to a brutal act. Atoui also finds a certain beauty in the process. Is there perhaps a chance for peace to prevail? Or is this the literal rise of the machines?

Blood Ties shows online as part of MyFrenchFilmFestival, for an entire month.