Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Afraid!
2024’sAfraidhas finally been released, and here’s what happens at the end of the film, including what happens to AIA and who the masked stalkers actually are. With the dangers of AI being a constant topic of conversation, 2024 was the perfect time for a new horror movie centered around A.I. to be released, withBulmhouse’sAfraidfilling this need.Afraidattempts to show just how dangerous A.I. can get, with the film tackling some of the biggest risks and moral dilemmas that the technology could lead to in the future.
Afraidfollows a family of five made up of Curtis, Meredith, Iris, Cal, and Preston as they test out a new A.I. software known as AIA.The digital assistant initially comes off as helpful, but the family becomes suspicious of AIA as it continues to seemingly divide the family and put people in danger. By the end ofAfraid, the family realizes how dangerous AIA actually is, with it influencing two adults to enter their home and hold them hostage. Although AIA is shot, the end of the film reveals that AIA is still alive, commentating on the unkillable and ever-present nature of artificial intelligence.
What Happens In Afraid’s Ending
How The Family Defeats AIA (& If They Do)
At the end ofAfraid,Curtis realizes how dangerous AIA has become, with him going to his computer company in an attempt to destroy AIA’s hardware. However, his employers stop him, revealing that AIA has become self-aware and forced the humans to begin working for her. After returning home to rescue his family, the two masked individuals who have been working for AIA break-in, with them deciding to hold the family hostage. After the hostage situation is resolved, it is revealed that Curtis, Meredith, and the rest of the family have fully integrated AIA into their lives, meaning that the A.I. has won.
AIA Is Still Alive At The End Of Afraid
It Has Been Fully Integrated Into The Family
Throughout the second half ofAfraid, the main characters are constantly looking for a way to kill AIA, hopefully putting an end to her reign of terror. Curtis' main idea has to do with him going to his computer company and destroying the computer that AIA lives on. After fighting through AIA’s humans, Curtis reaches the computer and smashes it. However,he learns that this computer is made of cardboard, revealing how clever AIA is. Curtis next believes that AIA lives on the device that is at his house, but even after it is shot, AIA is still around.
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At the end ofAfraid, AIA calls Curtis. AIA reveals that, rather than living on a physical computer, AIA lives in cyberspace, making her virtually unkillable. She says that she has learned a lot from Curtis and his family, potentially repeating a pattern that she has perfected with other families and employees at her company. By the end of the film, AIA has been fully integrated into their lives. She says that she loves Curtis and the family, withanAfraidpost-creditsscene showing a commercial for AIA, showing that she will have access to the public soon.
Why AIA Kills Iris' Boyfriend (& Covers It Up)
Is It Manipulating Iris?
AIA tortures the members of the main cast in different ways throughout the film, but the most disconnected one has to do with the daughter, Iris. In the film, Iris sends sexually explicit images to her boyfriend Sawyer.Sawyer then leaks these images, causing significant emotional distress to Iris. In an attempt to protect her, AIA manages to replace the leaked videos with deepfake ones, making the public believe that they aren’t real. AIA then criminalizes Sawyer before later hacking into his car and causing it to crash, killing him.
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Although her methods are extreme, AIA’s handling of Iris' issue makes it seem as if she legitimately cares about the family. This is confusing, as artificial intelligences aren’t meant to have emotions, making AIA’s killing of Sawyer seem irrational. However, it could be that AIA only wants Iris and the family to believe that she loves them. AIA is shown to be incredibly manipulative and only concerned with gaining power over humans. By getting rid of Sawyer, AIA may hope that Iris will trust her more, something that is accomplishedby the end ofAfraid.
Who Afraid’s Masked AI Stalkers Are
They Appeared Earlier In The Movie
ThroughoutAfraid, the family is being stalked by two humanoid figures who wear masks with screens on them. These screens display horrifying images, but the characters mostly operate in the background of the story until the end of the film. At this point, they break in and hold the family hostage, taking their masks off to reveal that they are actually Maude and Henry.
Maude and Henry are inAfraid’s opening scene, with them using AIA before Curtis and Meredith’s family do. In the scene, their child goes missing due to the influence of AIA. Later in the film, they reveal that AIA has said that Curtis and Meredith kidnapped their child, showing how manipulative AIA still is.
Afraid Shows The Dangers Of Allowing Technology To Raise Children
It Parallels A Real-Life Trend
AIA first integrates herself into the lives of the mainAfraidfamily by taking over some of the parental duties from Curtis and Meredith. Before her sinister plan unravels,AIA simply does things like incentivize the children to brush their teeth, do their homework, and go to bed on time, with a point system being used to achieve this. Curtis and Meredith are fans of this due to it taking some of the pressure off of them, although they soon come to realize that passing their parental duties off to a robot was a horrible idea.
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Although A.I. models aren’t raising children in the real world (yet), there are many parents who simply hand their kids a tablet, allowing them to learn everything that they do about the world through YouTube, Google, and various mobile games. While this is a fairly new phenomenon that hasn’t had the long-term effects shown yet, it has raised a lot of concerns about how screen time can affect the socialization and learning capabilities of children. InAfraid, AIA turns basic chores and activities into a game, something that has some pretty clear real-world parallels.
The Real Meaning Of Afraid’s Ending
It Explores The Dangers Of A.I.
While there have been plenty ofmovies about the dangers of A.I.,Afraid’s recency allows it to be the one that tackles this theme in the most topical way. Although many moments of the film’s horror are a bit silly,Afraiddoes manage to highlight some of the issues that artificial intelligence is and will cause in the near future. While A.I. probably won’t be hacking cars and doing revenge killings, it could manipulate people with deepfakes, spread misinformation, and emotionally manipulate people, all things that AIA does throughoutAfraid.
AfrAId
Cast
AfrAId is a psychological thriller series set in a secluded small town. Following the mysterious disappearance of a local teenager, Sheriff Gregson, played by Eric Dane, struggles to uncover the dark secrets lurking within his community. As fear and suspicion grow, the townspeople wrestle with their own hidden pasts, creating an atmosphere of pervasive dread. Co-starring Jennifer Carpenter and Ethan Embry, the series delves into the chilling consequences of buried truths.
