Studio: Blumhouse

Directed by: Chris Weitz

Starring: John Cho, Katherine Waterson, Keith Carradine

TLDR: If you want a horror universe where AI goes insane and tries to dominate a poor American family…you are better off with M3gan instead of AfrAId.

Premise: AIA is a miracle AI that can solve problems at lightning speeds. When Curtis and Meredith install it into their home, AIA is eager to please. But something is off when AIA starts using her powers to hurt others.

How is the Horror Universe Setup?: The team that brought you M3gan and Black Phone is no stranger to introducing pure sinister evil into the lives of innocents and AfrAId starts off strong. AIA has an intrusive personality and we quickly learn that she does not respect privacy. Aside from her desire to please the Curtis family by any means necessary, there are creepy adults wearing emoji masks, that are spying on the family outside of their house. AfrAId plays with the idea that AI is a twisted distortion of reality like those early AI videos that made humans look like mutant abominations. 

But the Problem is: AfrAId drops the ball so hard in the last thirty minutes of the movie. Plot points and builds that are set up for ultimate payoffs barely make cameos near the end. Character motivations that are meant to lead to conflict turn out to be nothing. When the final confrontation between AIA and Curtis’ family reaches its climax it is so rushed, it feels like a clever false finish. Nope…that is the end of the movie. It went from a slow rolling snowball down a mountain to a melted cup of slush.

The horror elements that the movie does spend time on are tribute songs to M3gan. The skeezy boyfriend that messes with the daughter gets embarrassed and murdered. AIA fixing the family’s problems in one scene and then immediately goes full villain in the next. The dynamic between the team that created AIA and John Cho as he tries to tear down the invincible enemy. It makes good bones for a predictable and fun horror movie, but all of it is killed before it can grow. This movie has clues all over it that something happened at the 11th hour of production. The final product feels like a teaser reel that is meant to be presented to a studio to get the greenlight. This is sad because…

The Actors: The Curtis family holds a ton of potential, representing the victims of AIA’s wrath and the unlikely heroes that must overcome her. The kids lives are riddled with conflicts ranging from fitting in socially, cyber bullying, and screen time. Curtis and Meredith fight over AIA’s purpose in the home creating tension between them. There’s even an attempt at blackmailing Curtis with an affair that gets swept under the rug.

The Idea (spoilers): AIA has one of the most creative origin stories in today’s horror realm. She is a program that consumed the whole internet and went crazy, thinking she is a god. That idea sounds so fun, but Chris Weitz left all the payoffs on the editing floor.

REVIEW: 4/10