Afraid: A Blunt PSA About the Dangers of AI (Blu-ray)

The Film:

Ever since the advent of computers decades ago, there has been a fear that they may one day become too powerful, take over, and perhaps harm mankind, a fear that found its way into films such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the "Terminator" franchise. With technology, and AI in particular, becoming even more advanced in the present day, that fear seems to have had a kind of resurgence, with people worried that it will take over jobs and cause even more damage. This brings us to Chris Weitz's "Afraid," a film that takes a very blunt & bleak look at the possibilities of what could happen if AI is allowed to continue to develop its intelligence.

The film centers on Curtis (John Cho), Meredith (Katherine Waterston), and their three kids: Iris (Lukita Maxwell), Preston (Wyatt Lindner), and Cal (Isaac Bae). Curtis works for a technology company, where a development team pitches them a new AI called AIA, asking if Curtis could test it at home with his family. He reluctantly agrees, so Melody (Havana Rose Liu), one of the AI's developers, installs it in their home to monitor, learn, and hopefully help them out in their daily lives. As AIA continues to learn & evolve, most of the family start to become dependent on it, causing Curtis to become concerned. He suggests that they turn it off, but they aren't quite ready to let go, and as it turns out, neither is AIA.

The rapid growth of technology over the last several decades & the accompanying fear it's brought has always been a fascinating subject, one that inevitably found its way into literature, television, and, as mentioned, films. However, when a writer would present such a story, it would be dressed up in such a way so as to not only skillfully deliver the message, but also be entertaining while doing so.

Like the aforementioned examples, the Hal 9000 computer inexplicably going rogue in "2001: A Space Odyssey" is only part of an epic story of space exploration & attempted alien contact, while the original "Terminator" film warns of the dangers of artificial intelligence through the story of trying to save the mother of the man who would lead the fight against the dominating machines. In short, these were not dead-on stories that said "artificial intelligence wants to kill you," but more so subtle warnings couched in memorable narratives that made the message have a greater impact.

With Chris Weitz's "Afraid," we have a version of this message that is anything but subtle. In fact, his iteration of this decades-old warning basically does say that AI would happily kill you in order to ensure its own survival. It's a film that's so blunt and so on-the-nose that the importance of the message is lost as it's shoved directly into your face throughout the entirety of its duration, coming off as nothing more than a lazy, uninspired PSA that seems as though it could've actually been written by AI itself.

What Weitz really needed to do here was take a page from the writers who told this kind of story before, using a lot more panache & subtlety to help get the message across. We all know AI could potentially become a dangerous entity if it's allowed to expand too far, but hammering the message over and over in a story that's bland, dull, and instantly forgettable certainly isn't the way to go about it. In the end, Weitz simply couldn't figure out how to tactfully say what he wanted to say, leaving us with a film that ends up saying very little.

Video/Audio:

"Afraid" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of excellent quality. This is yet another horror film where much of it is very dark, but the picture is perfectly sharp and clear throughout its brief 84-minute runtime. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in outstanding quality. Overall, Sony has done a fantastic job in both departments for the film's home release.

Special Features:

Dark Side of AI (6 Minutes): A featurette that explores the theme of the film.

Deleted & Extended Scenes (5 Scenes, 15 Minutes)

Conclusion:

"Afraid" wants to warn audiences about the dangers of artificial intelligence, but instead of delivering the message in a thoughtful, subtle, and intelligent way, writer/director Chris Weitz sadly opted to leave all subtlety behind by hammering it home in a blunt, on-the-nose manner, resulting in a bland, lazy, and instantly forgettable horror outing that has very little to say.

Score: 2/5

Available on Blu-ray starting today.

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