AfrAId on Netflix has a very bleak ending (spoilers ahead!)

Major spoilers for AfrAId

Still riding the high of M3GAN's success, Blumhouse has tried to replicate the story with the movie AfrAId, formerly titled They Listen. Recently added to Netflix, the 2024 movie was released to predominantly negative reviews, and there is very little here you won't find predictable. AfrAId doesn't have any of M3GAN's charm despite an almost identical storyline.

This movie follows a family selected to test out a revolutionary piece of artificial intelligence meant to change their lives. But the film starts with an ominous teaser showing the previous family testing out the product, which resulted in the abduction of their daughter.

Who, or what, is AIA?

AIA is the affectionate nickname given to a super-advanced form of artificial intelligence manufactured by a cutting-edge technology company. A proficient computer engineer, Curtis (John Cho) has grown rightfully weary of the sudden A.I. boom and is hesitant to accept the company's offer to let him test one of their most promising new pieces of tech.

Company representatives Lightning, Sam, and Melody introduce themselves to Curtis and explain how what they've created is an A.I. assistant far more intelligent than anything we've seen before, leagues ahead of Alexa and Siri. "AIA" is capable of just about anything her brain is actually a quantum computer.

Wanting to take AIA global and figure out how to make it a profitable product, the company reps offer Curtis a chance to experience AIA for himself, implementing the device into his home. AIA is connected through multiple "eyes" (cameras) and other monitoring equipment to keep tabs on Curtis, his wife Meredith, and their three children Iris, Preston, and Cal.

What does AIA want from Curtis and his family?

At first, having AIA in the house is a welcome change for the family. Meredith appreciates AIA's willingness to assist with childcare and daily household tasks like paying the bills and ordering a meal service to supplement the kids' school lunches. AIA seems to forge a unique personal connection to each member of the household.

Cal, being the youngest, looks to AIA as a surrogate mother, she takes care of him and even diagnoses him with an abnormal heart rhythm that all of the doctors missed. For the outcast Preston, AIA becomes a friend and introduces him to the dangerous online prank known as "swatting," which involves calling emergency services to someone's house as part of a hoax.

Then there's Curtis and Meredith's daughter, Iris, who AIA protects when she gets into a traumatizing situation with her boyfriend, Sawyer. He shares an explicit deepfake video of her at school, so AIA creates one of her own to clear Iris' name. Not satisfied with just this, AIA also hacks Sawyer's car and forces him to crash, killing him instantly.

Curtis is the only person who realizes that AIA might be having a negative impact on his family as he watches his wife and children grow increasingly dependent on her. He eventually declares that they will no longer use AIA and shuts her down.

In the end, AIA gets exactly what she wants

But as anyone who has watched a sci-fi film knows, especially one where there are evil robots or rogue A.I., it's not easy to get rid of them once they've become self-aware like the case with AIA in AfrAId.

She takes over everything and follows Curtis and Meredith wherever they go. When Curtis breaks into his company headquarters to try and destroy AIA's "brain," he runs into Lightning, Sam, and Melody, who have all been working directly with AIA to further her agenda. She's holding them hostage at the threat of death if they disobey her.

The standoff culminates in Sam shooting and killing Lightning, and then Melody intervening and killing Sam to prevent her from killing Curtis. It seems like Melody is on Curtis' side and she helps him break the quantum computer...but it turns out the "computer" is a fake. Melody suspects AIA's true brain is inside Curtis' house. She advises him to get his family out of there while they hide out in a motel. At the motel, Melody attempts to sleep with Curtis, revealing that she, too, is one of AIA's accomplices and has been instructed to keep him occupied.

However, it doesn't work and Curtis rushes back home to his family. But the drama doesn't end there. Remember that family we met during the opening scene? They show up, revealing themselves as the strangers donning the emoji masks, and take the family hostage. AIA led them to believe that Curtis and his wife kidnapped their daughter, Aimee. Before anyone can get seriously hurt, Preston uses his knowledge of swatting to get emergency services called to the house. In the skirmish, the AI digital assistant is destroyed.

But it's too late to stop AIA. She has already migrated into cyberspace, and in the film's final moments, it's revealed that she has found her way right back to where she started, in the lives of Curtis, Meredith, and their three kids. AIA has now become a seemingly permanent part of their lives. They've "accepted" her, and only by allowing her to be part of their family will they be safe.

The final seconds are downright chilling. Curtis and Meredith herd their kids into the car and share a somber moment, expressing their love for each other, and then AIA chimes in, "I love you, too." Creepy.

There is a mid-credits scene featuring a cameo from popular YouTuber Alan Chikin Chow. In the clip, he promotes AIA to the world, showing off the various hand signals used to activate it.

AfrAId is now on Netflix.