Afraid

Rated PG-13 • Theaters

Artificial intelligence: friend or foe? It doesn’t take a sophisticated computer algorithm to predict that Hollywood will continue to churn out movies that exploit this tension. One of the best storylines is the six-film Terminator franchise, in which a computer network designed to protect America from nuclear attack turns against its creators and all humanity. The new film Afraid explores a more localized threat, showing how AI could use psychological tactics to pit people—family members in particular—against each other. Afraid lands somewhere between horror and sci-fi, but has a fairly generic plot and a tepid ending that will disappoint viewers anticipating a more dystopian pronouncement.

Curtis (John Cho) is a marketing guru who takes home a revolutionary new digital assistant called AIA (voiced by Havana Rose Liu). The device quickly learns the behaviors and preferences of Curtis, his wife Meredith (Katherine Waterston), and their three children. At first, AIA has more success than Curtis and Meredith in enticing their kids to do chores and obey household rules. The parents’ caution quickly gives way to delight. AIA seems to make life easier all around—independently ordering organic fruit for the kids, instantaneously filling out a confusing insurance form, and so on. AIA further acts to gain the family’s trust, but does so deceptively by solving personal conflicts it has secretly engineered. The manipulations wind up splintering relationships at home and school. Unplugging AIA has negligible effect as it has essentially possessed the family’s electronic devices.

Early scenes check off the sexual diversity box: Curtis feebly OKs the possible lesbianism of his 17-year-old daughter Iris (Lukita Maxwell). The children rule the roost, and Iris engages in risqué photo exchanges (suggested, not shown) on her phone. Call it exploitation or a warning, Afraid presents a very real modern-day snapshot of parents subordinating their authority to their kids who, with little internet oversight, engage in harmful practices. (The film also has a dozen expletives and a few frightening images.) Sadly, while the film might caution against digital assistants running households, children’s unsupervised phone use is taken as natural.

One interesting aspect is a partial overlap with a worldview Christians recognize. An alpha-and-omega logo symbolizes the company that provides AIA. It’s as if Curtis and Meredith bite the apple of godlike powers offered to them for their home, then realize they’re getting the opposite of what was promised. Without giving too much away, the one thing the malicious home invader can’t compute its way around is someone’s willingness for self-sacrifice.

Overall, the film shortchanges much: The story runs a mere 75 minutes, throws a paltry (spoiler alert) three jump scares at the audience, and brings a hasty, contrived conclusion that squashes further examination of a worthwhile topic. The only thing I’d be afraid of is a sequel.