Afraid Review

“Hello, world…” – AIA

Hello indeed, AIA. A.I. is everywhere. It’s become a major force in our lives, infiltrating our daily routines in ways we’d previously thought were pure science fiction. Just sitting here at my desk in the study typing out this, there’s an Alexa equipped smart speaker just behind the computer screen, waiting patiently to play any music I care to mention, any radio station, she reminds me to take my scheduled daily medication, upstairs – the unit there will wake me up at any time I tell her to. Yes, I said “her”. Disturbing, isn’t it? Not only that – she’s in the car, via my smartphone. And if she’s on my smartphone she’s with me everywhere. She knows exactly where I am. (If I leave my phone in the car and head somewhere on foot, I’m certain my smartwatch is a snitch and will tell her.)

I can order things from Amazon, she’ll tell me when my deliveries are due, and when they’ve arrived. An upgrade away, she’ll turn the lights on, lock the doors… Where’s it going to end?

Leave it to Blumhouse Productions to produce a timely movie about A.I. going disturbingly wrong. And although it’s fictional – it’s not that much of a stretch when you consider everything I’ve already written. A.I. is ripe territory for some science fiction/horror. Moreso when you consider the paranoia surrounding its rise. Most people I’ve spoken to have a sense that devices like Alexa and Siri listen in to our conversations, and personally, I believe they’re right. Maybe not to the extreme of the government listening in, but certainly there have been a notable number of instances when I’ve mentioned something in passing, something I might have considered buying, or a series or film I watched a long time ago and within a day or so, adverts for that very thing have appeared on my social feeds or Amazon home page. “We thought you might like…”

It's handy, sure. But it carries also an element that’s sinister. And this is where Afraid works so well. It’s not the first movie about A.I. with its own agenda, we’ve had 2001: A Space Odyssey, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, I guess you can add movies like Demon Seed in there. (If you’re curious what Demon Seed is, just wait until Shocktober – it’s on the list.) But there’s a major difference between Afraid and those I’ve mentioned, and I’ll go into that later in the review.

Curtis (John Ho) is an advertising executive, and a client has an amazing new product. An advanced digital assistant that ‘s a step or two ahead of Alexa in its capabilities. It’s also a very large, bulky and intrusive looking unit. To demonstrate its awesomeness, a unit is installed in Curtis’s home. Curtis’s wife Meredith (Katherine Waterston) is a little hesitant, especially when the engineers want to instal integrated cameras upstairs, which she refuses. She soon sees the benefits of having AIA virtually run the house, freeing her time to pursue her own ambitions. AIA reads their youngest child stories, helps the eldest, Iris (Lukita Maxwell) write an essay to help her get to an Ivy League college. The middle child loves having someone to play games with. She even orders boxes of health food for the kids’ school lunch. It’s all ideal.

Until it isn’t.

AIA anticipates the family’s needs, and helps when things go wrong. In Iris’s case, her boyfriend convinces her to sent him some topless shots, which he and a friend manipulate via A.I. to superimpose on a porn film, making it look like Iris was a participant. AIA turns the tables, in spectacular fashion, which turns out disastrously for the boyfriend as she can control his electric car.

Which brings me to the main difference between this and previous films with a menacing A.I.

AIA does whatever she can to protect “her” family, even if it means killing. She bears no malice towards Curtis, his wife or the kids – but will do literally anything to protect them, or avenge any wrong done to them. In her own twisted way – she’s obeying her programming and is assisting. And as she’s hooked into the internet, she is absolutely everywhere – because as one of the characters says, the internet is everywhere. You can’t get away from it.

I had been really looking forward to this movie since seeing the trailer, and it didn’t disappoint. Though I wish it could’ve been a little longer than its brisk 84-minute running time. There hasn’t been that much publicity about it prior to release – I saw it on opening day, and it seems the reception has been lukewarm. I have a feeling this is one of those films that will have a short theatrical run, then will disappear – and that’s a shame. It’s a film that stays with you long after the screening, and will make you look at your phone and your smart speaker in a whole new way, because as the original title for Afraid tells us; They’re Listening.

Rob Rating = 9