Netflix has typically been a venue for theatrical flops to search out new life, and it is at present offering that service for a 2024 horror movie you doubtless missed. “Afraid” was Blumhouse’s third of 5 horror motion pictures this yr, following “Evening Swim” and “Imaginary” and previous “Communicate No Evil” and “Home of Spoils.” There are extra duds than hits in that batch, making 2024 a tough yr for Blumhouse. “Afraid” (stylized often as “AfrAId”) at present holding an abysmal 22% important rating on Rotten Tomatoes. At 55%, the viewers rating is a lot better, however nonetheless not nice.
However hey, typically whenever you’re scrolling Netflix late at evening, all you need is a ridiculous, foolish horror flick to throw on and cross the time with. On the time of this writing, “Afraid” is residing within the quantity seven spot in Netflix’s day by day High 10 motion pictures for the USA (by way of FlixPatrol). Which means it is solely at present rating behind the unique Lindsay Lohan Netflix vacation rom-com “Our Little Secret” and some older movies, together with Michael Could’s “Transformers.” Provided that “Afraid” got here and went with out a lot fanfare earlier this yr, that is a fairly first rate displaying.
Maybe the passage of time has merely made us all a bit extra inquisitive about tales the place unbound tech corps and free-range synthetic intelligence with no authorized fencing in place result in tragic, even nightmarish penalties. However whereas “Afraid” is perhaps definitely worth the look ahead to followers of the Blumhouse model, it should doubtless fall brief for anybody in search of actual commentary on the trendy AI panorama.
Is AfrAId value watching on Netflix?
Loads of horror motion pictures fall brief within the eyes of critics but discover immense success with their target market. Sadly, “Afraid” did not do a lot better in that enviornment when it was launched in theaters again in August. It barely made again its meager $12 million price range on the field workplace, and whenever you account for advertising and marketing prices and all the opposite bills of distributing a significant movie, that comes out to a fairly substantial loss. Blumhouse has constructed a fairly dependable mannequin round lower-budget movies, however that does not imply that each one of them goes to hit.
There are issues to love right here, although, most notably the sturdy main performances from co-stars John Cho and Katherine Waterston. The 2 play a married couple whose household is thrown into chaos after the set up of an experimental new AI good house system. Cho’s character, Curtis, has skilled ties to the corporate creating the AI, however although the advantages of utilizing it appear immense at the beginning, a darkish underbelly finally reveals itself.
If that pitch sounds enjoyable and you do not thoughts spending time on a film which may be form of meh, “Afraid” is perhaps value a stream on Netflix. However in a world the place so many good sci-fi horror motion pictures exist, and the place movies like “Ex Machina” or “The Creator” deal with AI storylines with a lot extra depth, there’s not that a lot to advocate right here. It is not about to interrupt onto the listing of Blumhouse’s greatest horror motion pictures, and also you’re in all probability higher off simply rewatching “M3GAN” as an alternative.
