L'I.A. du mal

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.

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.

Everyone is afraid of AI...with good reason after seeing this film.

"AfrAId" is AI on steroids.

Ironically just before seeing this movie I learned I'd been overlooked by an existing client for a voiceover job after losing out to AI.

If you don't think AI is a real threat to your life, income, family etc already then you have adopted the Ostrich stance and stuck your head in the sand or somewhere else.

In "AfrAId" we have a chat bot "AIA" who is looking for a family to love her, but she handles rejection worse than a contestant on "The Voice" when no judges turn their chairs after their audition.

"Curtis'" (John Cho "Harold and Kumar") family become early adopters or Guinea Pigs of "AIA" and get to test out this new device that seems harmless enough at first, helpful with home management and finances, medical advice and even quiet sexy time for the parents.

Slowly this worm turns and the real insidious nature of her becomes apparent.

"AfrAId" is an interesting case study into the bio-metrics of an average family with Katherine Waterston as "Meredith" wanting to prove she's more than just a "mom".

Her eldest daughter "Iris" (Lukita Maxwell "Shrinking") is struggling to navigate her teenage years in the digital device age.

Wyatt Lindner as "Preston" has some serious learning and social skill difficulties, while baby brother "Cal" (Isaac Bae) is battling on the totem pole of this regular family to be noticed.

Cho as "Curtis" bought the wrong AI home this time and invited it into his home!

Early in the film the classic Stanley Kubrick movie: "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) is quoted and we're reminded that AI known as "HAL" killed the entire crew (spoiler alert).

Hinting and foreshadowing heavily that the same outcome will occur in "AfrAId".

Turns out this AI messed with the wrong family or did it?

Watch out for: Keith Caradine as "Curtis'" Boss "Marcus"

Listen out for: the haunting "Utopia" by Goldfrapp in the soundtracks end credits.

Wait for: an unboxing video in the end credits.

This AI is like a Super Alexa to the nth degree and she doesn't need a body like "M3G" (2023) because she is omnipresent.

Just wait till you witness how invasive and damaging this predictive "AIA" can be in this families life.

"AfrAId" is also reminiscent of "Ex Machina" (2014), "Demon Seed" (1977) and "Smart House" (1999).

"AfrAId" feels like an extended movie length version of an episode of "Black Mirror".

I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing since I'm a big fan of that Netflix sci-fi series.

It also seems written for a sequel to really ramp things up in the horror department next time out of the box (pardon the pun), because this movie lacked much on screen horror...even though there were hints of a Boogeyman nothing eventuated.

It's more of a terrifying theme that is so contemporary in 2024.

"AfrAId" makes Chat GPT 4.0 look like an innocent, obsolete joke and joins the Blumhouse collection.

Just for the record no AI was used in the writing of this review, spell check YES, but no AI.

My initial reaction was this has all been done before and better, but it's an important, provocative movie for our time of deep fake and artificial intelligence seeping into our lives.

"AfrAId" is chilling because they listen and watch, but it's too soft on sheer horror to make you afraid, very, very afraid!

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 agree, AIA is not nearly here yet, but I've been in tech for over 40 years. Y2K never concerned me. This makes me shiver for my grand kids. At some point in your life time, this will be a reality.

Now, does this movie make that fact entertaining? Looking past the cheap jumps, and Alexa/Siri bashing, I think it does a decent job. What connects it to reality is that people are naive and technology is moving faster then it ever has and accelerating exponentially.

If you get past a little slow movement, and it's a pretty quick movie, the last 20 minutes is worth the wait. And the ending is uneasy enough to make a sequel something to think about.