Last Updated on August 31, 2024
PLOT: The Curtis’ family is selected to test a new home device: a digital assistant called AIA. AIA learns the family’s behaviors and begins to anticipate their needs. And she can make sure nothing – and no one – gets in her family’s way.
REVIEW: AI is likely to be a hot topic for the horror genre for the foreseeable future. The unforeseen element of the tech makes it ripe for spooky tales. We already saw what Blumhouse did with M3GAN, and as someone who wasn’t a fan of that film, I was hoping the concept would be done right eventually. Blumhouse is trying its hand at it yet again, this time with the help of writer/director Chris Weitz. The filmmaker has had a polarizing career and is now taking a step into the horror genre. And it’s as generic as you could possibly imagine.
The concept of an AI going from helping a family with their household tasks to overstepping their bounds and controlling their lives is interesting enough. John Cho and Katherine Waterston are decent but feel like they’re sleepwalking through their performances. The movie pretty plainly lays everything out for you, so the various moments where the characters remain unaware just make them look inept. The acting amongst the kids is a little iffy, although Lukita Maxwell is good as the oldest daughter. The subplot involving her sensitive photos could have been really thought-provoking but it’s played more like a music video, with the conflict and resolution tied up as quickly as they happened.
David Dastmalchian appears as Lightning (no, I’m not joking). He’s mostly expounding exposition about the AI and works well in the role. Like most Dastmalchian side roles, I wanted more of him and the movie would have benefited with a bit more Lightning. But it’s hard to ignore that he’s part of an absurd storyline involving the AI’s parent company that should have been scrapped. The film is constantly struggling with making this story important and at every turn, tells you the opposite. Because if anything, it’s just one step of thousands that the AI will be making, so why does this family even matter in the long run?
Given the subject matter, there is some AI imagery used throughout. I’d say that it kind of works with the uncanny valley effect. Outside of the credits and a few select sequences, it’s mostly just used for brief thrills which is probably for the best as it got a bit distracting. And the other evil elements of the AI aren’t handled with any kind of nuance either. There’s some creepy imagery that is quickly ruined with an explanation of what it actually is. It’s clear from the beginning that things aren’t quite right with the AI, making the story void of any subtlety.
The biggest issue I had with the movie is that it just kind of ends. Right when it feels like the stakes are finally ramped up and we’re leading to an interesting conclusion, the credits roll. There’s such a feeling of defeat while not even feeling like an earned victory. Which I suppose makes sense since the stakes were hardly even ramped up in the first place. A few bad people get offed but the family is never in any real danger. There’s never even that moment where the AI turns on them, hunting them down and causing mayhem. I felt robbed of some greater sequence that just never materialized. Afraid feels like it’s entirely missing its third act.
The lack of promotion was already pointing towards Afraid being bad, but I just wasn’t anticipating such banality. Every idea is run over so many times that it’s painfully tired at every turn. The dreaded PG-13 Blumhouse Curse strikes again with such mind-numbingly stupid moments, that it’s hard not to feel bad for everyone involved. They deserved better. Blumhouse is steadily chipping away at its once stellar reputation and being replaced by companies like Neon and A24. Afraid is more of their uninspired fare that belongs on a streaming carousel somewhere, not taking up theater screens. Because the more crap like this gets released in theaters, the more the theatrical experience is diminished.
AFRAID IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON AUGUST 30TH, 2024.
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