Afraid

Horror is not my genre. I do like Black Mirror and this is not that either. This is something to itself. It has some of the most impressive dialogue and premises followed by the most unimpressive. It's kind of like eating a secret flavored corn chip you can't quite place the flavor of, but can't stop eating.

Honestly, the entire story seems the most plausible way an AI would take over mankind. The twists were again...either impressive or...not...but the actors did a solid job and I found myself wondering "what if"?

What if they flushed out better plot beats?

What if the character motivations were more logical and coherent?

What if this was the AI masterpiece I've always hoped to watch?

I'm AfrAId all of those questions will remain suspended without closure.

I didn't expect too much from Afraid but it proved to be an entertaining watch provided you accept it for what it is - a brisk little AI related thriller and not heavy sci-fi.

John Cho and Katherine Waterston are fine actors who manage to portray a fairly believable family dynamic despite not having a whole lot to work with in terms of character detail or back story and the occasional moments of klunky dialogue. Between them they manage to lift proceedings where lesser actors would probably make this more likely to go straight to streaming or disc.

Where it does score is the undeniably creepy AI and the way it easily relates to the characters. Wisely it has a short running time so doesn't out stay its welcome.

It got me thinking about other recent AI or tech related movies like Megan, T. I. M and Kimi and if you liked any of these I reckon most would quite enjoy Afraid.

I was also thinking about House/Wife (previously known as Ivy), the movie Netflix completed but didn't release reportedly for tax reasons. Afraid did seem to feature a lot of this movie's reported plot details and it would have been fun to see just how many. Thanks Netflix.

If you're a fan of "AI gone rogue" movies, this won't show you much you haven't seen before. The AI (AIA) isn't very menacing, none of the leads ever feel like they're in real jeopardy. The acting wasn't stellar, but nobody embarrassed themselves, either. This would have been a really good made-for-TV flick. Personally, I enjoyed it, but I can see where those expecting a techno-thriller or a horror-gore fest will be disappointed. It's a nice little "what if" story that shows the effect of ever more intrusive technology on family life. See it without expecting the next big thing and I think you'll enjoy it.

I just got out of AfrAid.

I'd never heard of this movie. Directed by Chris Weitz and starring a solid cast of John Cho, Katherine Waterstone, Lukita Maxwell and Keith Carredine.

It's a bit typical of the rogue AI storyline, AI is introduced into family home, movie does a good job of showing how AI makes life convenient for the family, then AI starts to become too real etc. It's totally predictable, but thanks to the cast, I enjoyed it.

This isn't really a horror, despite some out of place jump scares, that really didn't need to be there. The movie was at its best when it was dealing with technology that is out there, already. Like the deep fake, stuff. That was when it was most interesting.

I think there is a much longer version of this movie out there, as things are just glossed over and there is a huge plot point, that just is forgotten about. It is really short too. It started at 14:40 and I was out of the cinema by 15:55

There were 7 other people in my screening.

Was afraid alright.. Afraid that I would fall asleep,before it was finished.

It was boring! Was nothing original or creative,very little suspense or thriller was hoping for at least a more climatic ending.

Casting to acting was average,cinematography felt subpar in spots.

With technology today & past movies or television shows,you would think if a movie is even to be considered for being made it would need something fresh.

Dialog & so forth was bland,if you're introducing new/advanced AI technology into a story go beyond realistic limits- That makes it intriguing & thought provoking,to future technological possibilities.

There's a movie called Margaux from (2022) that actually is,more advanced & a thriller unlike this-check that version out!

Not a movie that is recommendation worthy,let alone to rewatch.