A darkly comic, scary thriller with an all-star cast is available to stream now

The new film comes from the creator of Peep Show and Succession.

Armstrong’s feature directorial debut and his immediate follow-up to the smash-hit show Succession, the film revolves around Jeff (Ramy Youssef), Randall (Steve Carell), Souper (Jason Schwartzman) and Ven Cory Michael Smith), four uber-wealthy tech moguls and friends.

The group, who call themselves 'the Brewsters', gather at Souper's secluded, luxurious, mountainside mansion under the pretence of a weekend hang, though each person has ulterior motives for attending the meet-up.

Ven is being blamed for a growing global upheaval caused by AI-generated disinformation being spread on his social media platform, Traam.

As such, he wishes to acquire AI fact-checking technology developed by Jeff. That said, Jeff hates Traam and does not want his company to be subsumed by Ven's.

Randall, meanwhile, having been diagnosed with terminal cancer, believes that Ven’s ventures in the area of transhumanism could lead to technology being developed that would extend his life.

On top of this, Souper - self-conscious about being the only one of the four who is not a billionaire (his nickname is a reference to soup kitchens) - wants his friends to invest in his "lifestyle super app" Slowzo.

As the worldwide chaos caused by Ven grows worse and governments begin to falter, the Brewsters start conspiring on how to twist this situation to best suit them.

That is, until they begin to turn on each other.

Mountainhead was developed at a speedy pace by American service HBO, taking less than six months to produce. This is as Armstrong wanted the movie to address contemporary concerns.

Indeed, the film feels timely in two particular aspects.

While there have already been many movies and TV shows about the risks of artificial intelligence, Mountainhead imagines a global crisis brought about by AI that feels more authentic and believable.

Also, by telling the story from the Brewsters' perspective, it allows Armstrong to explore the minds of and take aim at the type of unscrupulous, powerful people who casually release life-altering technology onto the public, without showing any concern for that tech's impact on humanity.

The end result: a film that feels like a particularly timely, scary episode of Succession - with some added apocalyptic and claustrophobic thrills.

Mountainhead is currently available to stream via NOW.