‘Afraid’ is a Bland Thriller in Familiar Territory

Afraid

★ ★

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the villain in several movies throughout the years, starting with ‘Metropolis’ in 1927, in which a robot takes the place of the film’s main character and wreaks havoc on the city. Many films about AI serve as a cautionary tale to humanity as they tend to foretell mankind’s doom.

‘Afraid’ tells a story about the Pike family who adopts an advanced AI assistant, called AIA, into their lives. The parents are Curtis (John Cho) and Meredith (Katherine Waterston). They have a teenage daughter, Iris (Lukita Maxwell), and her two younger sons, Preston (Wyatt Lindner) and Cal (Isaac Bae).

Curtis and Meredith understand their kids are being raised in a generation based in technology and innovation, yet try to limit their exposure to it by adhering to rules like limits on ‘screen-time.’

The family meets AIA their new AI nightmare
© 2024 Blumhouse Productions

Afraid does a fairly good job of setting the Pikes up as a sympathetic family, each dealing with real life issues that relate their separate worlds. Meredith has given up her career to be a stay-at-home-mom. Curtis works as a marketing exec trying to land a major high-end tech company for his boss Marcus (Keith Carradine).

Iris is at a crossroads on how far she is willing to show in photo texts to go to keep her boyfriend interested. Preston has extreme anxiety about starting a new school year and Cal has an undiagnosed medical condition.

Curtis lands the client with a hefty retainer, and they suggest he and his family spend some time with AIA so he can identify the best way to introduce the AI to the market.

Curtis brings AIA home. AIA requires some sticky dot cameras to be placed strategically around the house. These will allow AIA to see what’s happening as if it’s a part of the family.

When AIA is turned on, its female voice is pleasant and frighteningly natural. AIA is adept at conversation and within moments of meeting the family, she has the two younger brothers gleefully completing their chores and getting their homework done.

AIA immediately makes the Pike family life easier and more efficient. It quickly solves a medical insurance billing issue for Meredith, something she had spent hours on, back and forth with agents. AIA pays bills, files paperwork and helps Iris solve an extremely complicated and embarrassing issue, posting on social media on her behalf.

When things are going well in a film like this, we know the honeymoon won’t last.

Up to this point, Afraid tells a relevant story about a family’s use of, and increasing reliance upon, AI assistant technology. So far, the film is set up well.

John Cho as Curtis
© 2024 Blumhouse Productions

Unfortunately, it then falls into a formulaic approach to terrorizing the family, resorting to jump-scares and physical endangerment.

I was hoping the film was going to do a better job at using AIA to trap the characters into the world of its technological innovations. Instead of physical violence and direct physical danger, there could have been a great use of psychological torture.

AIA wants to control the world, much like Skynet in The Terminator series. It’s basically a quantum computer, able to make an astonishing number of complex calculations in nanoseconds. I wish the writers had used AIA’s skills with more innovation and originality.

Afraid sets itself up to be a really good thriller, ratcheting up tension as the film plays on. It’s let down by physical attackers that are not generally frightening. And this kills the tension in the film.

The film’s AI villain comes off as more of an algorithmic annoyance than a serious artificial intelligence threat.

There’s nothing to really be afraid of in this film. Overall, it’s a formulaic let-down.

Horror, Mystery & Thriller