Afraid

Grade: C-

I’ll grant Afraid one thing: it certainly got me thinking about possibilities. Longtime readers know that I don’t give A+ grades. No movie is ever PERFECT. I don’t even know what would make a perfect film for me. A is the highest grade I’ll probably ever bestow. (I invite you to visit the tag “the A movies.” I just added one yesterday.) But it got me wondering: with the often freakish advances in A.I. technology, could a program, who got to know me well enough, ever create an A+ film for me? Maybe it will happen, and it probably goes without saying that Afraid ain’t it.

I liked the original title (They Listen) better. I imagine they went with Afraid so the font on the posters could accentuate the letters A and I right next to each other. It’s another PG-13 Blumhouse affair, rolling into theaters (and rolling out quickly, I bet) without much fanfare. You can compare it to Imaginary, Night Swim and especially M3GAN. Like the latter, Afraid dabbles in Artificial Intelligence stuff. I didn’t think much of M3GAN, we’re already getting a M3GAN 2.0 in 2025, so I question how necessary Afraid is. Yes – A.I. can be unsettling, and we perhaps rely on technology too much. We get the picture. We could paint it in hieroglyphics.

In Afraid, John Cho and Katherine Waterston play Curtis and Meredith, the parents of a family of five. Curtis is a tech person of some kind. His boss (Keith Carradine – I saw him as Will Rogers in a national tour of The Will Rogers Follies) assigns him to a new client, a digital device called AIA (pronounced “EYE-a”). She doesn’t appreciate being compared to a certain other popular smart device. “Alexa? That bitch?” – she says.

Most of the family loves AIA. She rekindles an old career aspiration of Meredith’s, she takes care of the oldest daughter’s boyfriend when he does a not nice thing, and gives the other kids incentive “points” for going to school and helping out with the dishes at home. However, as she learns more and more, she uses it as leverage, and will do anything to stay online, even after being unplugged. I’ve always liked Cho, Waterston, and Carradine, but they don’t seem happy or enthusiastic to be here. The great character actor David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Oppenheimer, The Boogeyman) is mainly here to act stoic and cryptic, like he just wandered over from a Stanley Kubrick film. Afraid has the feel of a straight-to-video movie, where we are introduced to characters and situations, we don’t care much about them, and are patiently waiting for the inevitable other shoe to drop.

I am simultaneously very weary of this kind of Blumhouse release, and I will continue to attend them with curiosity, to see if lightning will ever strike. It spurts out at a lean hour and 24 minutes, with little that is interesting or notable. In the spirit of the movie, I interacted with ChatGPT for the first time ever, with a prompt of “give me a movie review (in the style of something on filmreviewsbymark.com) of the latest Blumhouse film Afraid.” I’m enclosing what it gave me below. You can decide for yourself who wrote it better – me or the robot.

Grade: C

Afraid
Directed by: John Smith
Starring: Emma Roberts, Daniel Kaluuya, and Rebecca Ferguson
Release Date: August 30, 2024

Blumhouse Productions has long been a titan in the horror genre, and their latest release, Afraid, continues their tradition of delivering chilling narratives with a fresh twist. Directed by John Smith, this film is a haunting psychological thriller that delves deep into the nature of fear and how it shapes our reality.

The premise centers on Claire (Emma Roberts), a therapist who specializes in treating patients with severe phobias. Her world is turned upside down when she encounters a new patient, Lucas (Daniel Kaluuya), whose fear seems to transcend the boundaries of ordinary phobias. As Claire delves into Lucas’s case, she begins to experience terrifying phenomena that challenge her understanding of fear and reality itself.

Smith’s direction is deft, creating an atmosphere that is both claustrophobic and disorienting. The film’s strength lies in its ability to unsettle the audience with psychological depth rather than relying solely on jump scares. The screenplay, penned by Michael Johnson, weaves a taut narrative that keeps viewers on edge, gradually building tension with every scene.

Emma Roberts delivers a standout performance as Claire, portraying a complex character whose vulnerability and strength are explored with nuance. Daniel Kaluuya, as Lucas, brings a haunting depth to his role, creating a sense of dread that lingers long after the credits roll. Rebecca Ferguson also makes a notable appearance, adding a layer of intrigue as a mysterious figure linked to Lucas’s fears.

Cinematography by Lyle Williams deserves special mention for its ability to capture the eerie and unsettling atmosphere of the film. The use of lighting and camera angles effectively enhances the psychological tension, drawing viewers deeper into Claire’s unraveling reality.

While Afraid excels in its psychological horror elements, it occasionally stumbles in pacing. The film’s third act, while compelling, feels somewhat drawn out and might test the patience of some viewers. However, the finale brings the narrative full circle, offering a resolution that is both satisfying and thought-provoking.

In conclusion, Afraid is a worthy addition to Blumhouse’s repertoire. It’s a film that challenges its audience to confront their own fears while delivering a masterful blend of psychological terror and dramatic depth. Fans of the genre will find much to appreciate in this unsettling exploration of the human psyche.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars