Although Blumhouse has delivered some highly talked about original horror films over the last few years – including M3GAN, Freaky, and more – they’ve been bizarrely silent about their latest flick – Afraid. There’s been almost no effort to market the film. The hype has been non-existent amongst horror fans. And frankly, it’s been so easy to forget that it is releasing in theaters. Yet, Afraid is better than most might expect as it delivers some fun tech-based horror. 

The film follows Curtis (John Cho) and Meredith (Katherine Waterson) – two parents who manage to take care of their three kids pretty well. However, they aren’t always able to find time for themselves or be as involved as they’d like to be. That’s what makes the addition of an AI assistant named AIA (Havana Rose Liu) so helpful as it seems capable of doing just about everything. However, AIA starts to overstep some boundaries – causing Curtis and Meredith to grow concerned about this AI taking over their lives. Eventually, they come to learn much darker secrets about AIA that allow an unexpected nightmare to unfold. 

Now, here’s the thing, Afraid is unfortunately just ANOTHER recent film that touches on AI in generic ways. The whole concern of whether AI can turn against us and people over relying on the technology to get by has been done to death at this point – and Afraid adds almost nothing unique to the conversation. Admittedly, the fears of sexting turning into AI-generated revenge porn is an interesting angle, and the invasive nature of AIA can be pretty unsettling. But there is no meaningful discussion coming from this experience and this AI is simply there for gimmicky horrors. Not even the way people are depicted using AI is different and it’s mostly just everyone trying to avoid mundane parts of their lives – or asking lewd questions for laughs. Plus, this whole concept isn’t original whatsoever and definitely echoes the 1999 DCOM classic Smart House – but isn’t nearly as memorable. 

However, where Afraid does succeed with its AI antagonist is the fun it brings with its personality and villainy. AIA is definitely a classic Blumhouse villain in the making with its ability to deliver funny one-liners and be such a sneaky force. Liu’s voice work is really good here and she helps give AIA a personality that’ll resonate with audiences. AIA is easily one of the most powerful and wild AI characters we’ve seen in film and the dominance it eventually obtains is full of genuine shock. AIA isn’t the only way Afraid succeeds in its horror though as there’s some chilling imagery at times. 

The cold open is honestly very creepy as the vibes are characterized by off-kilter AI images. The distorted AI artwork of gross faces is matched with this eerie music that sets the tone super well. It’s something that’s kept up during the film too and the digital distortion AIA does emphasizes her growing paranoia excellently. There’s also a creepy backstory for AIA that’s well-designed and comes with some unsettling storytelling. Plus, there are these strange people with digital faces that make up this cult-like presence in the film. Afraid definitely has some solid horror elements that work alongside some decent story beats. 

While the dialogue can be stiff and come with awkward line-delivery, it’s hard not to like this family. They’re shown to be endearing and comical in good ways, and Cho and Waterson deliver some solid performances. Overall too, the story isn’t half-bad. It generally remains tight and engaging with a solid build-up of tension that boils over as AIA becomes a legitimate threat. Unfortunately, the film eventually overcomplicates things and goes totally off the rails in its final act. 

There are good ideas in the film’s finale that could’ve made AIA’s daunting presence and sheer inability to be contained absolutely terrifying. There is a shocking factor to the ending that revolves around how far AIA’s influence reaches and the acceptance these characters are forced to have for it can make your heart sink. But there’s just too much happening in the film’s final act. It’s overstuffed with twists and turns that turn the story into a jumbled mess and take away the potential intrigue of certain aspects. The cult presence takes a weird turn that doesn’t work and quickly becomes ridiculous. Any sense of realism with AIA is thrown away and the superiority it has is totally forced. It feels like there wasn’t a clear vision for how to conclude this story so it takes the most confounding and complicated routes possible – which isn’t satisfying at all. 

Horror fans will have some fun with Afraid through its villainous AI as well as its eerie visuals and story elements. However, the film is heavily hampered by its lack of originality and the final act that tries to throw everything at the wall, but finds nothing that sticks neatly. Afraid is nothing special from Blumhouse but not a total loss either.

Watch the Trailer Here: