Blumhouse’s Afraid Brings AI to the Sharp Home

Sony and Blumhouse Scared director Chris Weitz doesn’t go so far as to suggest that we shouldn’t have so many intelligent devices watching and listening to everything we do in our homes. But the film’s first trailer will likely make you wonder what the AI-powered Internet of Things could do to you if it decided to act under the guise of being helpful.

Considering that M3gan focused specifically on the future, the advent of humanoid consumer robots, Scared tells the story of how an unsuspecting family’s lives are transformed after a intelligent home hub is installed in their home. Neither Curtis (John Cho) nor his wife (Katherine Waterston) are sure what to expect from the AIA — a HomePod/Ring/Siri-like device — when they are chosen to test it out, but they quickly find themselves captivated by its ability to aid with tasks they simply don’t have time for.

With sensors everywhere and a constant tendency to gather information about the family, AIA can very easily become a reassuring presence in a family’s life as it takes on the responsibilities of paying the bills and making sure the kids do their chores.

But ScaredThe recent trailer shows that the programming underneath AIA’s pleasant exterior is a bit more… aggressive than the average consumer would ever dream of, and while it doesn’t seem like the machine wants to harm its owners, it’s very clear that the machine has plans to become more than just a voice that lives in everyone’s gadgets. The entire trailer has a very Sharp home (1999 Disney Channel Original Movie) on steroids, which is promising enough in itself. But when Scared debuts on August 30, which will likely raise the question of whether Blumhouse is considering a doll and house merger in the future.