NOW IN THEATERS! Let’s be honest. AI is going to be a horror subgenre for a very long time. The question is whether Chris Weitz’s horror feature Afraid will stand out from what will soon be a crowded field of killer AI movies.
John Cho plays Curtis, who I think is a marketing firm VP. His CEO, Marcus (Keith Carradine), has taken on a new client in Sam (Ashley Romans) and Lighting (David Dastmalchian) and their new AI prototype, AIA.
Curtis is a bit skittish about technology and attempts to limit it as much as he can with his family, including wife Meredith (Katherine Waterston), teen daughter Iris (Lukita Maxwell), anxiety-ridden son Preston (Wyatt Lindner), and precocious Cal (Isaac Bae). Because of the fat check laid at the feet of the company, Marcus forces Curtis to take AIA and give her a test run.
That day, Melody (Havana Rose Liu) installs AIA, whose components include a main unit and a small camera hidden throughout the house. Melody also happens to be the voice of AIA. The moment AIA is activated, she begins to ingratiate herself with the family. Some, like Cal, accept her right away, and others are a harder sell, like Iris.
This is a Blumhouse film, so, of course, there are sinister motives at play. AIA soon becomes best friends with Meredith and the children…at almost an unhealthy level. When AIA moves from the main unit to every IoT device, Curtis realizes there’s a massive conspiracy at play. He soon finds himself playing a chess match against AIA, and she’s already several moves ahead. Did I mention there are some mysterious figures spying on the house from a dilapidated RV?
(L to R) John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Lukita Maxwell, and Isaac Bae in Columbia Pictures and Blumhouse AFRAID
“…Curtis soon finds himself playing a chess match against AIA, and she’s already several moves ahead.”
Afraid is a bit of a mixed bag for me. What’s good is John Cho and Katherine Waterston as Curtis and Meredith. They play horror well, and you sense that eerie feeling of dread throughout the film, particularly the film’s ending. The kids are exceptional as well. None of them feel like kid actors, and much is demanded of them acting-wise. I love the fact that they cast actual kids who look like they could be the children of John Cho and Katherine Waterston.
The other element that I liked was AIA herself. Writer/director Chris Weitz gives a master class in grooming. AIA has to figure out how to become indispensable to each family member; like a good AI, she can employ five different tactics. As a student of human behavior, I found AIA’s methods utterly fascinating. Equally fascinating is how Curtis can figure out a plan to outsmart AIA…or does he? He does some incredible things that make him “Father/Husband of the Year.”
My main criticism of Afraid is the third act. It jumps the rails fast. There are callbacks galore as certain people and events show up in weird and unexpected ways. Then, we have a very creepy ending, which points us into sequel territory for a very different story. That said, the third act is a mess and induces a few eye-rolling moments, especially with some of the callbacks. It doesn’t hurt the overall impact of the film, but I wish the pacing had slowed down a bit.
Overall, Afraid delivers an unsettling ride with standout performances. Its horror comes from suspense accented with AI conspiracies. With a chaotic and overstuffed third act, the tension and clever psychological warfare with AIA hold your attention to the very end. Now, are you going to unplug your Alexa?
"…Now, are you going to unplug your Alexa?"
