(Updated 08/06/2024)
The whole idea behind a digital assistant is that it can make life easier, maybe even better. That's the promise of the device at the center of the movie AFRAID, which follows a family that allows an all-seeing new artificial intelligence to be installed in their home. At first, things seem to be going well… and then they go very badly.
Here's everything we know about AFRAID, including the first trailer.
What's the Afraid Release Date?
Sony Pictures will release AFRAID in movie theaters on August 30, 2024.
Watch the First Trailer for Afraid
This trailer does everything it needs to do pn order to line up the movie's premise and imply a great payoff. There's the nice family, the lure of life-changing technology, several moments of uncertainty, and the cold realization that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.
What's the Plot of Afraid?
The plot of AFRAID is set out pretty well in the trailer above, but if you're not able to watch it here's a quick rundown. Curtis (John Cho) and his family are selected to test a revolutionary new home device: a digital family assistant called AIA. With sensors mounted all around the family's home like remote eyes, the AI initially seems to be amazingly capable. But as AIA learns more about each member of the family, she starts to act less like an assistant and more like a cruel puppet master.
Who's in the Cast of Afraid?
John Cho and Katherine Waterston lead the cast of AFRAID as the main couple who bring the AI system into their home. Lukita Maxwell, Ashton Essex Bright, and Isaac Bae play their kids, whose lives are deeply changed by the technology — subtly at first, and then brutally.
The cast also features current indie genre luminary David Dastmalchian, and Havana Rose Liu, Keith Carradine, Riki Lindhome, Greg Hill, Ben Youcef, and Wyatt Lindner.
Who Made Afraid?
AFRAID is written and directed by Chris Weitz, who is probably still best known for co-creating the 1999 comedy smash AMERICAN PIE with his brother Paul Weitz. The brothers come from a family of Hollywood royalty — their mother was an Oscar-nominated actress who worked from the mid-1950s to the mid-'60s, and retired to raise a family.
Chris Weitz has directed movies in a variety of genres, from ABOUT A BOY to the theatrical version of THE GOLDEN COMPASS. He co-wrote ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY and THE CREATOR, and even touched on horror in the past as a director of one of the TWILIGHT movies.
AFRAID opens on August 30.
All images courtesy of Sony Pictures.