A digital AI assistant terrorizes John Cho and his family in trailer for Afraid

What if your Amazon Alexa or Siri had evil intentions? Given the accelerated evolution of artificial intelligence, that's not even a radical thought anymore. It's a concept that has been toyed with in countless horror and science fiction films throughout the decades. The latest to tackle destructive AI is the upcoming Blumhouse and Colombia Pictures film Afraid, formerly titled They Listen.

When Curtis (John Cho) and his family are specially selected to test out a new digital assistant named AIA, they're in for a treat—at first. AIA uses cameras and special censors throughout the house to monitor Curtis, his wife, and their children.

Slowly, AIA starts to learn everything about her new family, including their likes, dislikes, and secrets. AIA takes it upon herself to act like "another mom," and she won't let anyone or anything harm her family. One moment in the newly released trailer teases AIA getting revenge on a teenage boy who spreads salacious pictures of Curtis' daughter at school.

Afraid doesn't exactly boast an original plotline. It sounds very similar to M3GAN, except without a doll and even that short-lived Fox show NEXT, but I'm a fan of John Cho, who has consistently delivered excellent performances, so I'll be checking this one out.

Fear Street: Prom Queen and Alien: Covenant actress Katherine Waterston stars as Curtis' wife. Their on-screen kids are played by Lukita Maxwell (Shrinking) and Isaac Bae (Unfrosted). Afraid was written and directed by Chris Weitz, who is best known for his work on comedies like American Pie and About a Boy. He also recently collaborated with Gareth Edwards on the 2023 sci-fi film The Creator.

Bottoms actress Havana Rose Liu is featured in the trailer, seemingly playing the person who sets the family up with AIA. Late Night with the Devil star David Dastmalchian and Keith Carradine are also in the cast.

In addition to the official trailer, Blumhouse also released the first poster for the movie, which gives us a better look at AIA.

Afraid is releasing in theaters on August 30. To stay up to date on thrillers, sci-fi, and horror, bookmark 1428 Elm and follow our Facebook page and Twitter account!