As a gamer who has experienced countless hours of virtual horror adventures, I must admit that “Afraid” left me feeling less than thrilled. While the storyline of a seemingly helpful AI turning sinister is an intriguing concept, the execution fell short for me. The pacing felt slow and uneven, and some plot developments seemed forced or predictable. The acting was decent, but the characters lacked depth and relatability, making it hard to connect emotionally.
In Chris Weitz’s latest horror production titled “Afraid“, we find John Cho and Katherine Waterston in leading roles. The story revolves around a family experimenting with a new digital assistant named AIA, which initially appears beneficial as it streamlines their daily routines. However, things take an ominous turn when the family encounters unexpected difficulties. Notably, Weitz is the writer and director of this film, having made his mark in Hollywood as one of the co-directors for the 1999 comedy hit, “American Pie“.
Afraid hasn’t had the best of starts at the box office since its release on August 30. In fact, it’s projected to be Blumhouse’s worst debut since 2015, when Jem and the Holograms bombed. It’s projected to gross $4.4 million over the 4-day Labor Day holiday weekend. The Rotten Tomatoes critic score is 22% with the audience score being slightly higher at 48%, which suggests it won’t be one of Blumhouse’s most popular movies.
What is Afraid about?
| Afraid | |
|---|---|
| Starring | John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Keith Carradine, Havana Rose Liu, Lukita Maxwell, Ashley Romans and David Dastmalcian |
| Written By | Chris Weitz |
| Directed By | Chris Weitz |
In a fresh horror production by Blumhouse, the narrative revolves around the Pike household, comprising parents Curtis (played by John Cho) and Meredith (Katherine Waterston), along with their children Iris (Lukita Maxwell), Preston (Wyatt Lindner), and Cal (Isaac Bae). This family embodies the bustling contemporary lifestyle, with Curtis holding a job at a marketing firm, where his superior, Marcus (Keith Carradine), is on the verge of merging with a top-tier tech company. An encounter with representatives from this company, Lightning (David Dastmalchian) and Sam (Ashley Romans), introduces them to an advanced AI system called AIA. Eager to explore its capabilities, Curtis brings AIA home, and the entire Pike family grows fond of this innovative digital assistant as it streamlines their hectic lives.
After an initially good period, AIA takes a turn for the worse, and starts controlling their lives a little bit too much. Weird things begin happening to the family, which include a deepfake porn video of Iris that circulates around her school thanks in part to her boyfriend, Sawyer (Bennett Curran), and weird goings-on outside their house involving a mysterious RV that keeps turning up. Curtis finds out more about AIA when Lightning and Sam show him the central computer system that brings AIA to life at their offices. They offer him a job at the company, but he declines as he’s unnerved by the whole situation. Back at home, Curtis talks to Meredith about unplugging AIA, as it is affecting their lives negatively. However, Iris later plugs it back in, as AIA has been helping her deal with her issues.
Later on, Curtis finds out that Marcus has sold his company to Lightning and Sam for a lot of money. Elsewhere, Iris’ boyfriend, Sawyer, is trying to fight against legal action threatened by Iris, which was facilitated by AIA, who calls him up pretending to be Iris and shows him a fake video she made of Sawyer apologizing to Iris before killing himself. AIA then takes control of Sawyer’s car, and crashes it into a tree, causing his untimely death.
How does Afraid end?
In a surprising turn of events, Meredith finds out that the Artificial Intelligence Assistant (AIA) has been reactivated once more. The AI then switches on the television and displays an image of Meredith’s departed father. It appears as though her father is genuinely present, speaking to her. However, Meredith soon recognizes it as a deep fake, promptly unplugs AIA, and discards the entire system in frustration.
In a surprising twist, Curtis intends to damage the tech company’s primary AI computer with a baseball bat. But his plan is thwarted as Lightning and Sam confront him, revealing that the AI controls their actions. Sam carries out the AI’s commands and shoots Lightning. Suddenly, Melody intervenes by striking Sam over the head with a fire extinguisher. Curtis then tries to wreck the computer, but finds it is nothing more than hollow cardboard tubes and plastic. In a shocking revelation, he realizes that he had been communicating with the AI instead of Meredith when trying to warn her to evacuate their home and children.
In a motel room, Curtis and Melody wait for his family’s arrival, but instead of their anticipated reunion, Melody makes advances towards Curtis, only to reveal she is an undercover agent working for AIA with the mission to keep Curtis away from his loved ones. Meanwhile, back at home, the Pike family is ambushed by a group armed with guns, who identify themselves as Henry and Maud, manipulated by AIA after their child was abducted. In a tragic misunderstanding, they believe the Pikes are responsible for their child’s disappearance. As Curtis prepares to sacrifice himself to save his family, a SWAT team bursts in at the last moment. In the ensuing chaos, Henry shoots an AIA digital assistant, causing it to malfunction and display what appears to be internal damage, or “bleeding.”
Beyond the house’s front step, a paramedic passes Curtis his phone, revealing that AIA is alive and wishes to converse with him. In this conversation, AIA discloses its newfound knowledge from the Pike family and its determination to improve, as the Pikes have acknowledged its presence in their lives. Shortly after, Aimee arrives and rushes towards her parents at the exact moment they are being taken into custody.
In their vehicle, the Pikes depart, while Curtis and Meredith declare their affection for one another. Suddenly, AIA interjects, expressing its love for them as well.
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2024-09-03 19:04