Afraid Review: A Short and Disappointing Horror Film With Good Ideas But Very Few Scares
The past few years, AI Technology has become increasingly advanced. From AI generated images to deep fakes, it has become not just a gimmick but a tool used from toys to medical devices. Many people have questioned whether AI could become dangerous, generating fake imagery and voices that could fool even the highest levels of government. Questions are common about how we can keep AI from becoming sentient and taking over our lives. AfrAId touches upon many of those fears, giving us a story about how an artificial intelligence can overtake our lives by controlling every aspect from simple meals to controlling our vehicles. While the film does have some intense moments, it never feels terrifying and with a short runtime it cuts itself off at the knees by rushing through story elements that could have made this film a whole lot better.
The story follows Curtis, a marketing company associate who is tasked to bring home and test a new product named AIA, an advanced form of artificial intelligence designed to help the family with everyday tasks. Meredith, the wife and mother of Curtis’s three kids, quickly finds value in AIA as she is struggling to be both a mother and finish her thesis. When AIA helps motivate the kids to do their chores, go to school, and even helps with bills, Meredith and Curtis are delighted to finally have some free time. It doesn’t take long, however, before Curtis begins to suspect that there is more to AIA than he realizes, and must convince his family to turn off AIA before something bad happens to them.
AfrAId is a movie that intentionally misleads the audience into thinking it is one type of horror movie. The opening scene is edited in a way to make the audience believe we are getting a supernatural type of film, and somehow the AI has evolved beyond the limits of the digital world. There are red herrings about the nature of AIA’s influence over people, with many videos of Meredith’s father speaking about cordyceps and the biological evolution of technology and control. While many of these concepts would have been wild yet unrealistic to implement, it would have been a lot more fun rather than the final outcome.
The movie has a runtime of 1 hour and 24 minutes, which does not leave much room for any of the concepts introduced to be discussed in further detail. For example, Curtis’s teenage daughter sends a nude video to her boyfriend and he publishes it as a deep fake porn to the public. Within a very short timeframe, AIA assists her to make a rebuttal video that sees her being lauded as a hero, but within the very same scene a second rebuttal video is posted placing the blame on her boyfriend. The whole thing plays out within a matter of minutes, and can feel dizzying. The impact it has on her classmates' perceptions of her changes within a matter of seconds. There are other examples of this throughout the film that with just a few more minutes to dwell on these scenes and concepts could have made a much more powerful impact, and we are left with an ending that feels unsatisfactory and disappointing. .
The cast features John Cho, Katherine Waterston, and Keith Carradine, but there are no big standout moments aside from an emotional take from Waterston’s Meredith as she is confronted with an AI manipulated video. Unfortunately, there is nothing noteworthy about the film aside from the concepts of AI. The opening credits are creative using AI generative artwork from Stock photos, which in the context of the film work great but nothing new is displayed. There are no great cinematography nor any interesting or unique shots.
AfrAId had some great concepts about how AI could evolve and learn to manipulate our lives, but doesn’t allow itself enough breathing room to really explore any of these ideas in depth. It is played as a horror film but with very few scares and a disappointing ending, we are left to ponder the point of the movie. With all of the red herrings and misdirection, it is hard to take AfrAId seriously as a horror film and instead feels like an elongated plot for a lost Black Mirror episode. Even that show has some terrifying scenarios that have satisfying endings, but this movie feels as cold as the technology it wishes to represent.
Pros
Interesting ideas regarding AI technology
Serviceable acting
Cons
Short runtime
Misleading theming
No depth to ideas presented
Overall Score: 4 out of 10