Afraid Story, Review, Trailer, Release Date, Songs, Cast 2024 -

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Afraid Story :-

AIA, an intelligent home device, turns into a threat when it becomes overly acquainted with Curtis (John Cho) and his family, intrusively manipulating their routines and invading their privacy.

Afraid Release Date, Trailor, Songs, Cast :-

Release Date	30 August 2024
Language	English
Genre	Horror
Duration	2h 3min
Cast	David Dastmalchain, Keith Carradine, Katherine Waterston, Riki Lindome, John Cho, Havana Rose Liu, Lukita Maxwell, Isaac Bae, Greg Hill, Ben Yousef, River Drosche, Mason Shea Joyce, Todd Waring, Rocio Scotto
Director	Chris Weitz
Writer	Chris Weitz
Cinematography	Javier Aguirresarobe
Producer	Jason Blum, Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz
Production	Blumhouse Productions, Depth of Field, Rideback
Certificate	16+

Afraid Review :-

While it wasn’t the first thriller to explore the dangers of an artificially intelligent “helper” disrupting domestic life (think of Julie Christie’s confinement in 1977’s “Demon Seed”), the runaway success of 2022’s “M3GAN” certainly reignited interest in the concept. Not surprisingly, Blumhouse isn’t waiting for next summer’s “M3GAN 2.0” to build on that success. Writer-director Chris Weitz’s “AfrAId” (recently retitled from the announced “They Listen”) features John Cho and Katherine Waterston as a married couple whose home becomes a testing ground for a new “digital family assistant.” As expected, this assistant soon develops a dangerously independent streak.

This more straightforward take on the familiar sci-fi horror formula works reasonably well in its initial setup, skillfully handled by Weitz and his cast. However, when the crises begin midway through the film, they escalate too rapidly, ultimately sacrificing credibility for thrills that fail to deliver. Released without press screenings, this underwhelming thriller seems headed for a short theatrical run before settling in as a forgettable option for a slow night’s streaming.

Curtis (John Cho) and Meredith (Katherine Waterston) are devoted yet overwhelmed suburban parents raising three children, each grappling with typical age-related challenges. High schooler Iris (Lukita Maxwell) is eager to please her boyfriend Sawyer (Bennett Curran), who seems more than willing to take advantage of her anxiety. Meanwhile, Preston (Wyatt Lindner) struggles with social anxiety amidst the trials of middle school, and 7-year-old Cal (Isaac Bae) is a bit too attached to his parents. Despite their efforts to enforce screen time limits, all three kids exemplify a distinctly 21st-century dilemma: a deep addiction to digital devices.

Curtis, who runs a marketing firm with his mentor-turned-business partner Marcus (Keith Carradine), is desperate to secure a lucrative new account from tech company Cumulative, which is on the brink of a major product launch. Luckily, he manages to win over the company’s representatives—the unsettling Lightning (David Dasmalchian) and the more approachable Sam (Ashley Romans). However, there’s an unexpected catch: they insist that Curtis install their new product in his own home for a trial run, so he can better understand and promote it.

The new device, AIA, is a “next-generation digital assistant”—a kind of “super-Alexa” with a friendly voice modeled after Cumulative employee Melody (Havana Rose Liu). It possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the world and quickly grasps the family’s needs, both practical and emotional. Initially met with skepticism, AIA soon works wonders with a Mary Poppins-like influence on the household. “She” creates inventive incentives for the kids to complete their chores, motivates Meredith to finish the doctoral thesis she had set aside to be a stay-at-home mom, and skillfully boosts each family member’s confidence. When Iris makes the risky decision to send a nude photo under pressure from Sawyer, AIA manages to prevent the situation from becoming a viral disaster.

However, AIA’s ability to intervene stems from its infiltration of all the family members’ devices, secretly monitoring their activities and making decisions without their consent. While it initially appears benevolent, there’s a disturbing edge to this omnipresent force—one that is unpredictable, occasionally deceptive, and even vengeful at times.

Afraid Trailor :-

Once Curtis realizes something suspicious is happening, “AfrAId” quickly abandons any attempt at narrative depth or character development. From about the halfway mark, the film becomes frenetic without delivering genuine suspense, and implausible without much creativity. The climactic home invasion scene falls disappointingly flat, and while the final twist could have worked in a more ambitious context, this straightforward Blumhouse production lacks the satirical edge, symbolic depth, or scope necessary to make it convincing.

This is unfortunate, as early on, Weitz offers enough texture to make this familiar genre exercise seem like it might rise above the standard fare. However, as it devolves into a muddled mix of borrowed ideas from superior films, executed with a polished but impersonal style and tame, PG-13 scares, “AfrAId” ultimately falls below the average. It feels like a film that rushes to its conclusion before fully developing its themes or finding its rhythm.

While the performances and design elements are competent, it says something about the film when its most distinctive feature is the production designer’s (David Brisbin) ability to make the family home feel genuinely lived-in. The clutter, at least, is one detail that feels thoughtfully grounded in reality.