John Cho and Katherine Waterston Star in Chris Weitz’s AI-Themed Horror Flick

HAL, the sentient computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey, has left a lasting impact on cinema, inspiring numerous films featuring nefarious AI. The latest entrant in this genre is Afraid, a movie about a family and their experimental home assistant, which seems like an evil version of Alexa. With AI increasingly becoming a tangible threat, the film taps into current anxieties, especially within the entertainment industry. Screenwriters, voice actors, and actors fear that AI could replace them, making Afraid particularly timely.

Directed by Chris Weitz, best known for movies like About a Boy and Operation Finale, Afraid aims to be a smarter-than-average horror film. However, while the effort is apparent, the outcome feels rather uninspired and predictable. Horror films should ideally evoke a fear that’s beyond our usual experiences, and this movie falls short in that regard.

Weitz’s decision to cast John Cho in the lead role proves to be a smart move. Cho excels at portraying worried dads and brings depth to his character, Curtis. In Searching (2018), Cho’s character used social media to find his missing daughter. In Afraid, Curtis invites the malevolent AI into his home, where he lives with his skeptical wife Meredith (Katherine Waterston) and their three children.

Curtis is a marketer, and his boss (Keith Carradine) ropes him into being a test family for AIA—an advanced AI home assistant. To avoid the obvious “how could they be so stupid?” question, Weitz provides Curtis with a compelling reason for bringing AIA into their lives: the prospect of securing a lucrative account for his company. AIA, with its Siri-like female voice, soon becomes an intrusive presence in their home, monitoring every moment of their lives.

The film starts with a sequence showing AIA threatening another family, making it clear from the outset that the AI is far from benevolent. However, despite the evident danger, Weitz fails to build any real tension. The pros and cons of having AIA are laid bare, but there’s no sense of genuine fear.

Meredith initially insists that the cameras be confined to the ground floor, but she soon gets won over by AIA’s ability to handle daily chores like ordering groceries. Their 17-year-old daughter Iris (Lukita Maxwell) is also skeptical initially but changes her mind when AIA deletes a deep-fake porn video featuring her face—a video the AI probably created and spread. AIA also helps Preston (Wyatt Linder) with his anxiety and reads stories to the youngest, Cal (Isaac Bae).

Curtis mentions early on that being a parent is terrifying because no matter how hard you try, you can’t always protect your children. This line serves as heavy foreshadowing, pointing to AIA eventually becoming a stealthy parent figure, creating secrets with the kids. She overrides screen time restrictions for Preston, shows Curtis and Meredith The Emoji Movie instead of a documentary, and even invades their bedroom through a laptop.

Despite recognizing that something is horribly wrong with AIA, Curtis and Meredith are largely left looking worried. Waterston has a standout scene where AIA creates a virtual version of her dead father to keep her on board. Cho, on the other hand, resorts to physically attacking AIA’s mainframe hardware with a baseball bat—a futile effort given today’s cloud-based tech reality.

Visually, Weitz tries to add some flair. The in-home AIA takes the form of a wrought-iron robot that lights up, while the mainframe looks like a gaudy chandelier in a hotel lobby. AIA even shows Cal an animated video about an AI that escaped the internet. However, these attempts feel forced and fail to elevate the movie.

Afraid never truly delves into the complexities of AI, opting instead for straightforward horror. However, it fails even in that aspect, offering less fright than real-life anxieties surrounding AI.

Source: Particle News