‘AfrAId’ Review – Nothing To Fear In This Generic AI Thriller

A good idea is buried in this latest release from the Blumhouse assembly line, but it never comes to fruition in a way that generates an ounce of gear. AfrAId, now out on digital, wants to warn us against AI (artificial intelligence) and other technology, which is a genuine concern, but its approach is so generic and on the nose that it comes off more funny than thrilling. Writer and director Chris Weitz seemingly takes a hook and concept that could be interesting but does nothing enticing with it. It’s essentially the 1999 Disney Channel science fiction comedy Smart House, which followed a family who wins a computerized house that begins to take a life of its own, but with a bit more laughs because everything in this horror film comes off so absurd and by the numbers that all there is left to do is chuckle and accept that Blumhouse has dropped the ball yet again.

The film follows your typical horror movie family that is tasked with beta-testing an experimental AI that is designed to essentially make their lives easier. The AI is called AIA (voiced by Havana Rose Liu), and it’s similar to Amazon’s Alexa in design, a small device that sits on the family’s countertop and observes them through a dozen compound eyes that are positioned in every room of the house. AIA is a godsend, at first, for marketer Curtis (John Cho) and homemaker, but once entomologist Meredith (Katherine Waterston), two very exhausted parents that can use the relief of anything to take care of some of the household duties to lighten their load. By giving up some of their parental duties to AIA, the device becomes a significant influence in the lives of their children, always listening to their thoughts, fears, and concerns. Pretty soon AIA takes on such a parental role that it will protect the children at all costs, becoming so possessive that even the actual parents are perceived as a threat.

There is no secret that AI has become a hot-button topic and the fear of what it’s capable of is very real and very concerning. It’s clear that Weitz wants to tap into these fears because AIA is designed to do things that many believe AI can do in the decades to come. AIA can understand EVERYTHING and seems programmed to solve all of life’s problems within an instant, even if it’s perceived as complex. Beyond managing the workload of the household, it can also understand basic human behavior by analyzing people which eventually becomes a form of manipulation as it can determine everything it needs to offer the person in question to make them complacent. Beyond that, it can also hijack automated systems and personally act on your behalf, which the film does view as a double-edged sword. There are benefits to having a machine think for you when you’re too tired to do so but on the other end of the spectrum is a machine that can resort to deadly means, leaving you to live with the consequences.

That is a particularly chilling idea, but the tension never escalates beyond that. Describing what AI is capable of shouldn’t be more frightening than what this film has to offer. AfrAId should be able to take these fears and visualize them to startling effect but the movie never pushes its ideas far enough to illicit the fear necessary for the audience. Weitz doesn’t appear capable of producing any frights or a sense of dread, even though he flirts with it at times. A situation evolving daughter Iris (Lukita Maxwell), who is lured into taking nude photos that are turned into AI animated porn by her creep of a boyfriend, is perhaps the film’s best series of scenes as AIA’s advice to deal with the situation goes from helpful to deadly revenge within an instant. Everyone likes a good comeuppance, which he certainly gets, but it’s the only time the film has deadly fun with its premise. By the way, the film, as it should, believes that spreading nude photos of a minor is wrong but when the device teaches youngest son Cal (Isaac Bae) about “swatting”, which is the act of calling in a false emergency to get armed law enforcement on a scene, that is viewed as a good thing and perfectly fine to do.

Another flimsy narrative choice is how AIA so easily can divide the family and tear them apart before they become aware of its intentions. Meredith is automatically leary of the device but welcomes AIA as an ear for her when she needs to vent. The same goes for the children, who clearly need someone to talk but the screenplay doesn’t suggest that the family is so broken that they would be manipulated by AIA’s intentions. Also, despite a decent vocal performance from Havana Rose Liu, it lacks a sense of menace to sell the idea of the growing terror of the situation. There is also no real explanation as to why AIA goes rogue. Weitz likely believes it’s merely enough that the machine becomes so self-aware that it takes on a life of its own but the narrative tries to insinuate that there is more to it than that. There is a suggestion that the internet is responsible for AIA going off the rails but it’s a narrative thread that is dropped and doesn’t really go anywhere. it’s too thinly written to go into these ideas thoroughly and at only 84 minutes, there isn’t really time to do it.

Somehow this film attracted the talents of John Cho and Katherine Waterston, two capable performers who look lost here because they have zero to work with. Cho doesn’t get to escape beyond the “concerned dad” stereotype but at least he has that to fall back on. Waterston is given even less to work with and even an actress of her talents needs more to play with in order to flesh out the housewife mom role. They’re both better than this. It’s not that they’re bad here it’s just that it’s clear they are way above the material.

As tech-based horror goes, AfrAId will not be reinventing the wheel. A shell of a good idea is there, but it’s never fully realized. It wants to play on all of our modern fears but doesn’t have the intelligence of the AI in the film to manipulate the audience into buying what it’s selling. Essentially, there is nothing to fear here other than another mundane release courtesy of Blumhouse.

AfrAId is currently playing in select theaters and is available on Digital platforms courtesy of Sony Pictures.