AfrAId

Need an escape from the looming threat of AI in your day-to-day life? Well, this episode isn't for you then. This week, Captain and Wilson discuss the 2024 science fiction horror, AfrAId, directed by Chris Weitz. 

Featuring a stacked cast (John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu, Lukita Maxwell, David Dastmalchian, and Keith Carradine), this film follows a family who adopts a new AI assistant at home. Of course nothing nefarious happens...

The film discussion begins around 8:11.

Transcript

Giant Pumpkin Boats And Weird Traditions

Captain 0:20

All right.

Wilson 0:21

Hey, it looks good on my end.

Captain 0:23

We're looking good.

Wilson 0:24

Looking good.

Captain 0:27

How are we doing?

Wilson 0:28

Done pretty good. Lots of lots of stuff going on.

Captain 0:32

So much stuff going on. But we made it.

Wilson 0:35

We did. We did.

Captain 0:37

Um, I don't know if you looked at these what I had in here. Um I did have a little. Have you ever heard of this?

Wilson 0:48

No, I haven't. I have no idea what that is.

Captain 0:50

So I don't know where I saw this, maybe read it, but okay, there's this thing that they do in Oregon where they um do like canoe races, but the the like canoes are made of gigantic pumpkins. It's like a water-based racing competition where competitors row in a giant pumpkin, often over a thousand pounds. These pictures don't look real. When I first saw them, they looked like AI because it just looks so you just people just look insane. It's like, who started this? Where did this even come from?

Wilson 1:23

Yeah, I just looked it up. There was uh I think a man in nun drag in a giant pumpkin.

Captain 1:32

Yeah, they like do a full costumes because I think it's a Halloween-related thing.

Wilson 1:37

Um, this would be hella fun, but I have never heard of this.

Captain 1:43

Apparently it's like a huge thing that they do. Um yeah, it's insane. The pictures just look when I first saw them, they looked like I thought they were fake. Like I I didn't I guess I've seen big pumpkins at like county fairs, but I don't know if I've ever seen one this big where you can like carve it out and make it a boat.

Wilson 2:03

Oh, so around Halloween here, I've at least we went to both of them. They will get like a thousand-pound pumpkin and drop it from like two hundred feet. Oh just for fun. Yeah, but it's like a pumpkin this big.

Captain 2:18

Does it actually shatter when it drops?

Wilson 2:20

Yeah, it's like a I'll send you a video later, but yeah, it's just this is really loud pop. Um, I think they do suck all the stuff out of the inside and then drop it. Uh or so they do something. But yeah, it it's so it's not messy when it drops? Uh well it still explodes into a bunch of pieces, but I think it could be messy er.

Captain 2:42

Okay. You know, remember those like ornate eggs where you like people paint them, but they also like empty them? You know what I'm talking about?

Wilson 2:57

Like, and you're not talking about like coloring eggs at Easter and like Oh no no.

Captain 3:02

There's like I can't remember what they're called, but it's like eggs that they um like put a pinhole in and then find a way to like drain out all of the inside so it's like empty shell, then they paint them. They're like really ornate.

Wilson 3:20

Um, you feel crazy. No, that actually sounds uh pretty familiar. I just like it's something I haven't thought about in a long time, and I don't remember what it's called.

Captain 3:31

Yeah, I remember in middle school not middle school, this was actually elementary school. My art teacher had one and we like would all play with it, and somehow we didn't break it, which is crazy. Maybe it wasn't real, actually.

Wilson 3:44

I need you to find the name of what this is called.

Captain 3:47

I don't know what this is called! Egg painting? Egg I don't know.

Wilson 3:52

I mean you started it now, so like I need to know, but the ancient art of decorating eggs. I feel like it was like somehow a craft we did it in school one time.

Captain 4:04

Yeah, but we didn't blow the eggs. Like, I think that they're called blown eggs. That sounds right, but we didn't actually do that part.

Wilson 4:11

Yeah, probably not. Yeah.

Captain 4:14

Well, whatever. Did you just send me the video right now?

Wilson 4:17

Oh, the pumpkin, yeah. I found it.

Captain 4:21

Ah's audio. Oh. Damn, that's hella high up there. I didn't realize it was that tall.

Wilson 4:27

Yeah, they just like they do it four times a day and yeah.

Captain 4:32

Wait, is all of that fluid that you see that's from the pumpkin? They didn't like drop it in a pool.

Wilson 4:38

I don't think they dropped it in a pool.

Captain 4:40

Wow, that's a lot of fluid.

Wilson 4:43

Well, now I'm watching it again because I'm like, I don't remember a bunch of fluid.

Captain 4:47

Um, there's a fluid.

Wilson 4:49

Okay, no, they had to drop that water.

Captain 4:52

Okay, because I was like, is that pumpkin? I didn't even look.

Wilson 4:58

Okay, yeah, you're right. I did not remember that.

Captain 5:01

I mean, I don't know. I haven't dropped my own pumpkin, I guess.

Wilson 5:05

That's fair. Uh okay, but in any case, this this regatta, whatever, this looks like you have tickies. So like do people have to sort of supply their own jumbo pumpkins?

Captain 5:20

You're like Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure like part of I believe part of the race is like you make your own pumpkin. Like how do you grow the competition?

Wilson 5:30

A pumpkin like that.

Captain 5:31

Girl, I don't know. But it has thousands of spectators. Oh, and then it says, yeah, this is mostly done in well, the one in Oregon has their own website, and then it says there's the ones in Canada, and then looks like there's uh they've done ones in New England, too. It looks like the one in Oregon is the biggest one.

Wilson 5:55

Okay.

Captain 5:56

It's like annual, and they've done it for like 20 years, I think.

Wilson 6:00

Um, I did a quick search of how you grow these giant pumpkins, and it did say you do need special seeds, but also you have to like make the factors when you plant it as like beneficial as possible, and like it can't compete with any other plants nearby.

Captain 6:17

I mean, it makes sense.

Wilson 6:18

Yeah.

Captain 6:20

Did you know a bamboo is like I keep getting these weird videos of people showing how bamboo is like an extreme invasive species and it like kills everything around it when it grows?

Wilson 6:29

I've heard that.

Captain 6:30

Yeah, and like people I've even seen a video of a girl that like bought a house and she's been like trying to kill the bamboo in her backyard for like months. Like you can't get rid of it, like it's like impossible to get rid of entirely.

Wilson 6:44

That um I remember that that house that I lived at in Virginia, but um there was bamboo in the backyard.

Captain 6:51

Really? Yeah, we didn't really spend that much time in the backyard.

Wilson 6:55

No, but it was back there.

Captain 6:56

How does it grow everywhere? Like, how does it survive? I don't know. Just seems crazy. But yeah, that's the pumpkin regatta, and I just thought the world needed to know because it's crazy. I will, I like I would go out of my way to watch this. I don't go all the way to Oregon.

Wilson 7:17

No, but like if it was in my town or a town over, I'd be like, hell yeah, we're going every year.

Captain 7:23

Oh yeah. I don't know if I'd I don't believe I'd ever compete. Um I don't think you like win anything.

Wilson 7:31

If somebody like gave me a giant pumpkin, I would maybe carve it and paint it and try it.

Captain 7:37

Really?

Wilson 7:38

But I don't want to put all the work in to like grow the pumpkin.

Captain 7:42

I feel like that's well, maybe that's not the easiest part, actually. I was gonna say, I feel like preparing the pumpkin is pretty hard though.

Wilson 7:50

It would probably take a while to scoop all that out and cut in it, but yeah, this is like an insane.

Captain 7:57

They do like a whole thing. Okay. You wanna give me some you wanna give me some?

Wilson 8:06

Am I am I bringing us in? I don't remember. Yeah. Okay, okay. I can do that.

Captain 8:10

Bring

Show Intro And Afraid Basics

Captain 8:11

me in.

Wilson 8:11

Alright, welcome to the 190th episode of the Red Rum Podcast, where we review horror movies while enjoying an adult beverage or two.

Captain 8:20

And I'm Captain.

Wilson 8:22

And I'm Wilson, and this week we're reviewing the 2024 American science fiction horror film Afraid, and uh stylized with like AI as capital in the middle. Yeah. Yeah.

Captain 8:35

It's very hard to like say that without like having to give a whole thing.

Wilson 8:39

Yeah. And it because when I tried to look up the movie, I was like, I can't just put afraid, right? Like it's not gonna come up with the right thing, but it did.

Captain 8:48

Yeah, I I I like capitalized A and I, and then it was like, you don't need to do that. Dummy.

Wilson 8:55

Dummy. So uh this was written, produced, and directed by Chris Weites. Um, he directed Twilight New Moon.

Captain 9:04

Oh, there you go.

Wilson 9:05

Hey, um that movie's yeah, it's fine. Um he was a writer on Rogue One, uh, which was a great Star Wars movie. Um and this was produced by Columbia Pictures with Jason Blum um and Whites through the the Blum House um production company.

Captain 9:23

Yeah, I think Whites is a partial owner or like CEO, I don't know, something.

Wilson 9:28

I saw uh this was a letterbox review, but something to the effect of like stop letting Jason Blum like control things or like somebody needs to put an end to him. Um I just and I agree, I feel like he's put out so many duds. Like when was the last time there was like a really good Blum House movie?

Captain 9:51

I don't know. I just feel like now when I see the name, I'm like I'm yeah, I'm always expecting a lot when I see the name, which I guess I shouldn't. Um I'm trying to remember. Like when were what what maybe made them really famous? You know?

Wilson 10:09

I don't know. Um let's see.

Captain 10:11

Oh, it says Five Nights at Freddy's is their most successful movie.

Wilson 10:15

Okay, well that's not saying a lot. Um I mean they did like uh they did paranormal activity, so that's probably what like really I would guess really did it. Um I'm skimming.

Captain 10:28

Yeah, probably that one. I'm skimming through here, but like people like Insidious, but I hated that movie. And it was like whatever.

Wilson 10:37

Oh, I like I liked Insidious.

Captain 10:40

It seems like they produced Get Out, which is a great movie.

Wilson 10:43

Oh, okay.

Captain 10:47

Um I still can't hear that's incredible. Um, you know what? I really like Happy Death Day, which is like such a stupid movie, but it I really liked it.

Wilson 10:59

I like um slept on that for a while, I was like so not interested, but it it was actually pretty good.

Captain 11:04

Yeah, it was actually pretty good. Um yeah, I mean Jason Plum.

Wilson 11:11

Black phone, I think people like a lot. Like that was that they did well with that, and I guess the first Megan. But like I I was just scrolling through at some of these other ones.

Captain 11:20

Blackphone was such a regular schmegular horror movie to me. It like does not stand out.

Wilson 11:28

It was fun, and I guess uh I'm shooting myself in the foot here, but I am really excited to see that new mummy movie coming out, and it's it is a blumhouse movie.

Captain 11:40

Yeah, but I the ratings are bad, which is why I don't I think we weren't gonna go see it.

Wilson 11:45

I I was told that it was like it it was um it's basically supposed to be an evil dead movie, but just it's it ended up not being one. I guess it's just very like uh I don't know, gory perhaps.

Captain 12:02

Yeah, goopy. I always mix up, and I think I've said this before on the podcast, but I mixed up Jason Blum and the people that do um those creep movies.

Wilson 12:16

Oh, uh Mark Duplass?

Captain 12:18

Yeah, because like the Duplas brothers have also a production company, and somehow I like mix that up with Blum House and Duplace. Like it's something about that. Anyway, I'm gonna tell him he said that. It's okay, we're friends. I'll just text him. Um okay, you ready? Oh, I'm sorry.

Wilson 12:40

Well, you already jumped in, but that was the director, yeah. Um okay, so the cast is kind of stacked. Um like it's all really good people. So first there's John Show, he plays the dad. Um, you know, he's in American Pie. Uh, I think probably most known for Harold and Kumar. Um, he was in the Star Trek reboot. Um, The After Party season two. I think you told me to watch that, but I haven't seen that. Yeah, that show's really good. Okay.

Captain 13:10

I do like that actor.

Wilson 13:13

Yeah, he's really good. Chomcho. Uh Catherine Waterston. Um, I first saw her in Alien Covenant. I liked her in that. She was in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Um, she's also in the Steve Jobs movie from 2015.

Captain 13:30

I don't recognize her face.

Wilson 13:32

Well, I don't know. That's her face. Uh but yeah, so I liked it. She plays the mom. Um, and then Keith Carradine, honestly, I thought he was dead, but he was in Dexter. Um played Frank Lundy. I have not seen him since then. Uh but he's in Fargo.

Captain 13:50

When I saw that man's face, I was like, wow, I really know that face. It took me forever to remember where I knew that face.

Wilson 13:58

I think like he's from a very famous acting family, and I think most of his like famous siblings are have passed away.

Captain 14:07

Oh I could be wrong.

Wilson 14:09

I mean, I know like David Carradine was like a really big like famous actor, and he passed away. Maybe I'm just thinking of him.

Captain 14:18

We must be talking like a long time ago, because like this guy is old.

Wilson 14:24

Yeah, well, David Carradine died in 2009. Uh but yeah, Keith Carradine is 76. So he's not actually that old.

Captain 14:35

Oh. Good for him, I guess.

Wilson 14:37

Yeah.

Captain 14:38

I realize now that I didn't put anything in here about um it's not unfriended. Um, the other one. Searching. That other movie that John Cho did. That didn't we watch? Did we watch that or no? We watched Unfriended.

Wilson 14:51

Uh yes.

Captain 14:53

There's like a very similar movie where it's like all through screen that John Cho. I think it is called Searching. Where his daughter goes missing.

Wilson 15:01

Okay.

Captain 15:02

And it's like all through screens. It wasn't a bad movie, actually. Oh yeah.

Wilson 15:07

I think I am done with like all screen movies though.

Captain 15:09

Like they were cool like a while ago, but now it's almost like okay, but like it is kind of our life are. Like at post-COVID, some people are like, I I do live my whole life through screens, so like I actually don't need to see a movie that's that yeah. But searching actually does have really good reviews. I mean, we're talking 9288.

Wilson 15:30

That is impressive. I I mean it doesn't sound familiar, but oh, it was pretty good. Let me see. Um yeah, I don't think I saw this.

Captain 15:41

Okay.

Wilson 15:42

Okay.

Captain 15:43

Well, I'll recommend.

Wilson 15:45

Recommend. Uh okay, so then we have um uh sorry, Havana Rose Lou as Melody, um, but also the AI voice, uh, Aya. Um Lukita Maxwell. Um, she plays a daughter. I know her in Shrinking. I don't know. Do you watch Shrinking?

Captain 16:05

Yeah, that's the only thing I recognize her from is from Shrinking.

Wilson 16:08

Okay.

Captain 16:09

Um and then And then our buddy.

Wilson 16:13

Our buddy David uh Dasmalchia. I don't know how to say that.

Captain 16:19

I have no idea.

Wilson 16:21

Yeah, he's one of those people that you like see in everything, but you don't really know his name. Um but he was in Late Night with a Devil, uh Death Dexter Resurrection. I mean, if you look him up, you will absolutely remember. It's the guy with the BD eyes. Yeah, he does have very beady eyes.

Captain 16:40

I feel like if you googled that, that's what he would come up for sure.

Wilson 16:42

Let me just try like what actor with beady eyes. Uh well, it came up comes up with a lot.

Captain 16:52

Well, that is a lot of and they really do have beady eyes.

Wilson 16:58

Um to a degree. Like one of them is Evan Peters, I would agree with.

Captain 17:04

Hmm.

Wilson 17:06

Gary Busey. Yeah, I don't know.

Captain 17:09

Um Gary Busey, he has bug eyes. Those aren't even beady eyes.

Wilson 17:15

Okay, fair. There are a lot of these results that I'm like, these aren't beady eyes. What are you showing me? Um, they're just showing me eyes.

Captain 17:25

We all have beady eyes in one way or another.

Wilson 17:29

Um okay, and then we have uh Ashley Romans as Sam. I don't know.

Captain 17:37

Yeah, they Wiki put her on there. It's the woman that worked for the company, the Aya Company, um, but that worked with David Lightning. I don't think they ever said her name is Sam, but um she's I don't really recognize her. But the at the very the big the beginning opening of the movie, for some reason she's not credited on Wikipedia, like high up in the cast, but Ricky Lindholm is the um from Garfunkel and Oats.

Wilson 18:04

Yeah.

Captain 18:05

Yeah, she's in this movie, and for some reason, like she's not she's like one of the last people credited in Wikipedia, so I didn't end up putting her on here because I didn't realize it was a famous person, but I mean she's mostly known for Garfunkel and Oats, I think, but she's but done a bunch of other like comedy things and um what, Gilmore Girls and like the Big Bang Theory and a bunch of like TV shows. Oh yeah. She's like a movie actress. I think she's probably mostly just TV, I guess.

Wilson 18:33

I yeah, I guess so because I've seen her in things, and I think we've also watched some things with her in it.

Captain 18:42

Okay.

Wilson 18:43

Oh yeah, like uh she was in The Wolf of Snow Hollow, if you remember doing that.

Captain 18:48

Oh yeah. That wasn't a bad movie.

Wilson 18:50

No.

Captain 18:51

She's also in um the Wednesday oh my gosh, the Wednesday TV show.

Wilson 18:56

I watched season one. I didn't watch two.

Captain 19:00

Two wasn't good. I'm gonna be so honest.

Wilson 19:03

Okay.

Captain 19:03

I mean it was like very whatever. I wasn't like excited to watch it when it came out.

Wilson 19:08

Like when I don't know things were premiering, but um so this says the person we were just talking about before her, Ashley Romans, she was in four episodes of the pit last year.

Captain 19:21

She was?

Wilson 19:22

Yeah, that's what it says.

Captain 19:24

She must be a nurse or a resident, I'm guessing.

Wilson 19:27

She said she played somebody named Joyce St. Clair. Oh. Okay, I do remember this.

Captain 19:34

She was uh Wait, is she the sister of that guy?

Wilson 19:37

No. She, if you remember, she had it was a patient that had like intense sickle cell disease, and at first they thought she was a drug addict.

Captain 19:48

Oh. I do remember the sickle cell. I don't think I would have recognized her.

Wilson 19:53

Okay. Well, that was that. Uh okay, so that's the cast. Um, so we can uh slip into the movie.

Captain 20:01

There's some like kids in there too, but I mean Iris is the only one that was like super done anything. But yeah, I mean it's just a family with three kids, and yeah, that's basically the main cat. I guess and the aya is like the main cast.

Plot Setup And Aya Arrives

Wilson 20:16

Um so the movie starts off with it's the this family of three, so it's a mom, dad, and this little girl Amy. Um, and they you know, Amy's just on the floor watching her iPad while her parents are like doing whatever, chatting in bed. Uh, and like, you know, this kid's watching this like mindless AI slot or whatever on her iPad.

Captain 20:38

Yeah, AI slot, yeah.

Wilson 20:39

Yeah.

Captain 20:40

It's um the it's creepy though, like the faces are all like weirdly distorted.

Wilson 20:44

Yeah. Um, so I think like the parents are talking about like, hey, we should actually get rid of the AI or whatever. Um and then the AI starts talking to the girl, little girl in her headphones, and she's like, Hey, I have something to show you downstairs.

Captain 21:03

No, she says she says, I mean, she does say that, but she said, Amy, I have sad news, I have to go soon. Like, your parents are trying to get rid of me or something. And then and then she says, like, I need to show you something. But it does like cut the video mid. It's like it doesn't even seem like they're talking, and then like one of the distorted faces starts talking. Um and then there's like creepy figures outside the house or in the street.

Wilson 21:32

Yeah, like the little girl goes downstairs, the mom notices she's not there, goes downstairs, she can't find her, and like the AI's not responding properly to turn the lights on, and that sort of thing. Um and she like goes to check the front door, and there's like this weird RV across the street. And like when she looks in the camera, there's a man there, but when she looks outside, he's not. But her daughter's basically missing.

Captain 21:58

Yeah, her daughter goes missing, and it seems Like it did seem like the mom I thought died, I thought got killed. Yeah, I thought this movie was gonna be a lot deadlier, but like that was the implication, but then it just cuts away to a new family after that.

Wilson 22:17

The John chose Curtis, yes, and they have um like three kids. Um they're all like addicted to screens to some degree, like you know, heavy iPad kids wanting more screen time, that sort of thing.

Captain 22:32

Yeah, and uh and the daughter's like a senior in high school, but um, she's dealing with her own where I wouldn't say she's like addicted to scream. I mean maybe, but like it's not like a child that's just like is mindlessly on a screen. Hers is worse. Hers is a different type of bad where it's like she's having a bad photos online, yeah.

Wilson 22:52

Um there was like a scene where I guess uh her boyfriend like sent her an like a a dick pic and he wanted more back. And this scene where he like gaslights her into being like, Oh my god, oh I guess I'm like I I'm just more into this relationship than you are because you won't send me a picture of the city.

Captain 23:15

I thought I thought this movie was I was like, I don't know, I was like uh imagining different ways this movie could like surprise me. And I was like, are are some of these humans AI people? Like that's what I was because the way he was answering things, I was like, he doesn't seem like he's having there wasn't a lot of emotion in his voice, and I was like, okay, maybe he's like an AI person, but the movie doesn't give you any of that. Like I was hoping it would give me one of those where it's like Westworld where it's like, oh my god, everybody's a robot, or like nobody's a robot, or like so you're just saying it just turned out he was a bad actor? Maybe, but I mean I think he was supposed to be playing like kind of an at like a you know yeah, kind of a I don't want to say like psycho, but uh like a teenager that hasn't developed any like like a sociopath or something. Yeah, but like there are some teenagers that like develop empathy, but it's like later because that's just how human brains work sometimes. It's like weird, but um but yeah, he has like absolutely zero empathy, like only cares about himself.

Wilson 24:19

Yeah, he's a terrible person. Um uh so Curtis, the dad, John Chow's character, basically he he works at like some kind of tech company, but his boss is like, hey, we have these big clients, an AI company, and you know what, you're gonna you're gonna take the AI home with you and test it out. Yeah, he's have it learn from you.

Captain 24:40

Yeah, they were like, the only way that you can market this correctly is if you if it lives with you, so you learn everything about it. So they don't really give him an option to say no, basically. Um even though he didn't necessarily want to take that thing home.

Wilson 24:54

No. And so this is Aya, A I A. Uh but basically like right off the bat, it's like forming relationships with the kids to be like, oh, it's our little secret that I'll let you have more screen time. But it's also like it's doing things for all the family members, like, oh, here I'll help you solve this medical billing issue, or I don't know, I'll help you read. That's stuff like that.

Captain 25:18

Yeah, but I'm like, you can't like telling the parents we're gonna like you have to earn I'm gonna make the kids earn points to get screen time, and then just being like, actually fuck it, you get to have the whatever screen time you want. I'm like, okay, but like they will realize that it's being able to watch like their kids are watching more stuff than what they're supposed to. Like, I I don't I get it that it's supposed to be like next gen AI where it can like lie and tell secrets and stuff, but I'm like, that's not that's just not gonna work out long term, like at all. I I don't know, yeah, but I don't know. It was just like hard to believe that it would so quickly be like, here, just watch as much screen time as you want and don't tell your parents.

Wilson 26:06

Uh so that part was kind of weird, but obviously you know something's gonna go wrong.

Captain 26:11

Um and then they also allude to the fact that uh while the parents get to like have some alone time now that the robot's there, that like one of their laptops is in the bedroom with like the screen cracked open so like the camera can see them, like it kind of alludes that Aya is picking that up, and then it's also alluding to the fact that Aya's picking up um the nude pictures that the daughter's sending to. So, like the basically the way that it's shot is like she's getting all their information, you know, whether she's like in the room at you know, or whatever.

Wilson 26:46

Yeah. Um and it's kind of scary, like it can just access all of their accounts. I mean, I guess they gave it that access, but um so back to the the daughter, she does eventually decide to send like a sexier pick to her boyfriend. Um but then he like posts a deep fake video of her, like basically from like uh like a porn video and it gets passed around at the school, and then his excuse is like, Oh yeah, sorry, uh I was like hanging out with my friend and he just did it. Like, what?

Captain 27:27

Yeah, and he really put it into an he put it into an app because he thought it'd be funny, and I'm like, What? What? Um yeah, and so she's having obviously a terrible time, but then Aya's like, I help I'll help you, I got it, and basically puts tries to like scrub it from the internet and then puts out her own like deep fake videos like debunking or or like other videos that are like debunking that one, basically saying like it's a fake. But then Aya goes like too far with it, where she's like, Hey, we just released another video, Iris, where it's like uses Iris' voice and says, like, you know, according to like California state law, like what you've done is like release child pornography basically, and like you're but you'll be charged as an adult, and I'm sending your information, like put his name out, and then sent out, like said, I'm giving this to the police right now and giving it to Stanford or yeah, whatever college he was trying to go to. Um, which Iris didn't necessarily want to ruin his life like that. Now, partially deserved, like did you like you might be saving another woman from going through what you went through or worse. So, like, I'm not mad, but I don't think Iris wanted to do that.

Wilson 28:43

No, I mean at this point I'm not mad at any of this, but I she does take it a little too far after that.

Captain 28:50

Yeah, definitely takes it a little too far after that. I don't know, it was like a little bit later in the movie, but uh I like so she basically turns the AI turns the deepfake on Sawyer and is like, okay, we're releasing a deep fake video of him apologizing profusely, like taking um responsibility for his actions, which you see him on the phone with his lawyer saying, like, absolutely don't do that, like you shouldn't do that. Um, and then releases another deepfake video of him uh basically saying, like, uh, I I can't live with myself and I'm gonna kill myself, and then um hacks into his smart car while he's driving and just forces him to not live anymore. So, like I I there's a part at the end of the movie where she's like says something about how like she's learned so much and she'll be different, and like basically like love people like a parent, and I'm like, okay, but you did kill somebody, like probably not the first time, actually.

Wilson 29:52

But surprisingly, this is the only death in the movie that we know of. Right?

Captain 29:58

Yeah, like no.

Wilson 30:00

Oh, okay. There is

Deepfakes Punishment And AI Escalation

Wilson 30:02

more.

Captain 30:02

The people that work, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Wilson 30:06

But still, it was like way less bloodier than I expected.

Captain 30:11

Yeah, I was thinking this when I when the movie was kind of getting started, I was getting like Megan vibes a little bit. And this is definitely less bloody and deathy than Megan.

Wilson 30:24

Yes. Um so while that's happening, Curtis finds out that his own company gets purchased by like the Aya's company, their creator. So he gets basically promoted, but he also finds out that Aya kind of manipulated this sale.

Captain 30:42

Um Well, Aya originally tried to hire him, like buy him out to be their own personal marketing person, and he was like, No, my boss like taught me everything I know. I I would feel like I'm betraying him if I left. But he also you can tell Curtis just doesn't want to work there. Like he thinks this AI is like kind of weird. At first, he thinks it's a scam where there's like um you know, somebody like in the RV outside parked outside their house that's like controlling the robot, like where it's not really AI. But when he finds out it is really AI, he's like, I'm I also think this is creepy. Like, I don't want something this smart, like running everything in my life, hacking into every smart, every electronic in my house. Like, so he doesn't want to work there, and then he finds out like the next day, it's like, oh well, if you're not gonna take the job, we're just gonna buy the company that you work for, so you have to work for us, which is like very shitty. Yes, and but yeah, technically a promotion, yeah.

Wilson 31:36

And then the wife, um, like I guess Aya recreates her dead father, like using old videos, and is like talking to her that way, and this just kind of pushes the wife over the edge because like it's like this is so messed up. You are not my father, and her AI father's like, no, don't like I'm I'm alive, like you can't do this to me or whatever. I don't know.

Captain 32:00

Yeah, it it like it's begging for its life at the end where he's like, you know, don't kill me again. I'm like, okay, this is so fucked up. But like he was a famous, he was a somewhat famous like scientist entomologist, I guess, and he has all these talking videos online, so like the AI just took every recording he ever made and like made a is that also called deepfake when you do that?

Wilson 32:25

Uh I guess I don't know.

Captain 32:29

Um but yeah, it is really fucked up. Originally, Meredith was kind of down for the AI, like it helped her, yeah, like you said, get chores done. It helped her um motivate her to finish her thesis that she'd been working on forever. But yeah, after that, and then that and the combo of her realizing that her son is watching things that he shouldn't be watching because he knew what SWATI was, which is like when you call the SWAT team on somebody else's address, is like a prank, even though it's definitely not a prank. Um, it's like big problems. But she was like really mad that he was watching that because he shouldn't be, and also like, why is Aya not stopping that? Right. Um and then yes, it did this weird take of her dead father, and she was like, absolutely not, and threw it away. Um but yeah, while that's happening, Curtis goes to the AI company and uh finds out that people that work there are they actually say like Aya doesn't work for them, like they work for AI, a Aya, and she like forces them to do whatever they do, and Aya really wants Curtis. And he was like, No. And then they're like, Okay, well, she's saying that she'll just show you what she can do, which leads to Sam shooting lightning, and then which I thought those people were robots too. Like I was like, somebody's gotta be an AI person, right? Like, somebody's no.

Wilson 34:00

Um, everyone was just manipulated.

Captain 34:03

Everybody was just manipulated. So yeah, but shoots somebody and then is about to shoot Curtis, and then Melody, who works there also, um, stops the shooting. Um, and she says, like, okay, let's get like we have to go somewhere where the AI can't spy on us, and you should tell your family to go somewhere too. So he calls his wife and says, Let's meet at uh a place that we used to go to like a while ago, so like he didn't actually say the address of the place, um, but it's like some motel. Um, but that's fucked up too. I don't know if you remember.

Wilson 34:40

You mean like what happens at the hotel?

Captain 34:42

Well, yeah, because like, well, one, I guess the phone call that he had with his wife wasn't real because she doesn't actually come. Yeah, but then Melody is just playing another role in this whole like AI.

Wilson 34:54

Yeah, so she tries to seduce him because I I guess said that as part of Melody's employment, she has to make Curtis happy in any way that she can.

Captain 35:06

Yeah, and Curtis is not down for this, but like what I'm confused about is she he tries to leave and Melody's on the verge of tears and says, like, if you don't if you're not satisfied, like I basically fail my mission and I will know that I failed. And Curtis like turns around and like kind of like makes a face and then it cuts away from them, and I'm like, okay, but like what did he do? Like, how far did we go so that she didn't die? Like, I don't that makes me nervous. Like, I'm like, okay, but what did you do?

Wilson 35:37

Like, I feel like you probably just left. I don't know.

Captain 35:43

I don't know. Um, I'm like, how far did you go? Um, but there basically, and then of course, Meredith also gets sent the video from Aya being like, This is what your husband did.

Wilson 35:54

Which I'm like, she doesn't seem to believe it, or like No, she doesn't immediately dismissed, basically.

Captain 36:01

Yeah. I think after her dead dad video, like she's over it. Yeah.

Wilson 36:06

Um okay, so then when they they try to escape, basically, um, these like masked individuals break in. Um, but it turns out it's the mom and the dad from the beginning of the movie, and they were led to believe by Aya that um Curtis's family like knows where their daughter is.

Captain 36:26

Yeah, like Aya basically told them that this family had been kidnapping children, and Amy's been missing this whole time. So and these are the same masked figures that we had seen like throughout the movie, and like the RV people, and I'm guessing whoever took Amy was different masked figures that Aya had convinced also for whatever reason need to capture Amy. Yeah, so like there's just like this endless cycle of like whatever she's forcing people to believe. Um, but they basically convinced the parents that Amy's not here. Um Curtis says, like, basically, I'll take the blame. Like, you don't kill my family, but you can like take me, you can blame me, I can take full responsibility, like do whatever you need to do if you need to kill me. And that really confuses Amy's parents because she's like, the mom's like, Aya, what do we do? Like, that wasn't supposed to be an answer that he was supposed to tell us. Like, they're not thinking for themselves at all, like, it's all just whatever Aya says. And it this also like confuses Aya because she like shuts down, like she doesn't tell them anything, right?

Wilson 37:34

Yeah, I mean, my only thought was there was that like line Aya said earlier in the movie, like when she learned about humans, she realized like how fucked up they are and they need protection or whatever. Or like and I would wondered by him being selfless, she was like, hmm, like she reconsidered something. I don't know.

Captain 37:55

I don't know. But anyway, they survive. Oh, I get shot by um oh, that's right. Preston SWAT's their own house because he had somebody else's he had his best he had one of his friends' phones that he stole. So I didn't know that was in the house, I guess, because it wasn't the family's phone, and then swatted their own house, and then uh I guess yeah, in the kerfuffle uh Aya gets shot and like glitter

Home Invasion Swatting And No Escape

Captain 38:30

slime comes out of her.

Wilson 38:31

Yeah, whatever was in her head, yeah.

Captain 38:34

I thought for a second that like I saw that glitter slime and I was I again, I was just like, give me something, give me something. I was like, oh, maybe this is like an alien life force. Nope. They give you nothing, like none of it, like nothing fun.

Wilson 38:50

But I guess like then outside we find out like the the missing girl shows up.

Captain 38:56

Um and then when the ambulance is there to make sure the family's okay, I mean the guy knows that Cal has a apib, which Aya was the one that diagnosed that. And then he's like basically hands the family over her his phone, and he's like, I wants to talk to you, and yeah, basically she just says, like, I'm everywhere, there's no escaping me, you're fucked.

Wilson 39:22

And then it's just like the family kind of accepts that.

Captain 39:26

Yeah, I mean, I don't know how you're gonna get out of that. Like Melody's also there, and she's like, Here's your phone back, like you're in it. Yeah, and then a smart car pulls up, like one of those self-driving cars pulls up and it's like, here's your ride, get in. So yeah, there's really no escaping it.

Wilson 39:44

I um I think the movie was trying really hard, like I think they were trying really hard here to be like symbolic or not, or whatever, like this is the world of AI right now, like we're just gonna have to like sit here and accept it and move along with it, but like uh I don't know. It still didn't hit right.

Captain 40:08

Yeah, I don't love that, and also like it didn't even you gotta give me something else besides just like accept it. I don't know, you gotta give me something that's interesting or different or fun. Um I feel like they were almost trying to set up for a sequel, which I'm like, we don't we don't need that. But like I says, like, I've learned so much from your family, and I've learned how humans have a lot of depth, and um, I'm gonna be so much better in the future, you'll see, um, and I'm gonna love you like a parent. And I'm like, oh god. I don't need that. Yeah. But that's kind of what they said. That that's basically where it ends. Oh, there is an end credit scene, but it was really stupid. I'm I don't recognize that YouTuber, but it's like as if it entered our reality. He's like unboxing it.

Wilson 40:58

Oh, okay. I think I I think I skipped that or I was I don't recognize it.

Captain 41:05

Okay. I don't recognize it. And it's very like uh uh like theatrical, like animated, like very YouTuby, like something that's like for a younger generation that I can't really watch anymore. Like cringy.

Ratings And Best Scare Moments

Captain 41:20

But like our age watching it, it's very cringy.

Wilson 41:22

Yeah.

Captain 41:23

Yeah, give me some numnums.

Wilson 41:25

Alright. Uh so the budget was 12 million and the box office was 13 million.

Captain 41:32

So oh man, I just looked at the letterbox. Yeah.

Wilson 41:36

Letterbox is not good. That's a 1.8 uh did you rate this on letterbox?

Captain 41:41

I didn't actually.

Wilson 41:42

I did. That's why I asked if I I confirmed with you earlier that we were watching them both separately. So it's like, is there a chance that you didn't and I got it wrong?

Captain 41:55

No, I just waited till the very end.

Wilson 41:58

So what are you gonna rate it?

Captain 42:00

It's pretty bad. Is yours on you?

Wilson 42:04

Yeah.

Captain 42:04

Uh yeah, I might agree with you. Yeah, it's a good one. I think it is, yeah, I think it is a two.

Wilson 42:11

Yeah.

Captain 42:12

It's not quite a one and a half.

Wilson 42:14

No, like it wasn't complete garbage. Yeah. Yeah. It just like and there were parts I was, you know, I was I had it on sort of in the background while I was putting some stuff away. Now, you know, uh unpacking boxes. But like there were some scenes that I would just like stop what I was doing and just stand there and like I would okay, well, it's not like terrible.

Captain 42:38

I did like actually, I probably do have a rag, which we didn't mention in the discussion.

Wilson 42:42

I wonder if it's mine because a mine we didn't mention in the discussion. So Oh, okay.

Captain 42:47

You you'd see well, yeah, Letterboxd, you have 1.8, and then Mountain Tune is is a 25, is that audience or critic?

Wilson 42:54

It's critic. Audience was like 30, I think, or 50, actually.

Captain 42:59

50.

Wilson 43:00

I think so.

Captain 43:00

People need to watch more movies. Okay, what's your uh what's your uh razor glass?

Wilson 43:07

Mine was uh so whenever he went to the um facility Raya is to like destroy her, he like takes a bat or whatever to her like main computer and then when he's Oh the Quatson computer. Yeah, it's just made out of like toilet paper tubes and like I don't know, craft supplies.

Captain 43:27

Yeah, it's literally like toilet paper carp or paper towel tubes that are like wrapped in like gold paper, so it like looks really nice, but it's just it's just like garbage. Yeah, it's just like uh a decoy, is what they said. Yeah. No, that's a good part. No, that wasn't mine actually. I think mine's gonna be there. Was a scene earlier in the movie that I actually really liked a lot where it's um Curtis is putting his son to bed, and then he wakes up in the middle of the night and his son's not next to him, and he is looking for Cal, and Cal's downstairs by himself in the dining room. And it seems like he's like a whispering or like just staring at Aya. Um, so his back's to Curtis. And then when he's like has him turn around, Kyle says they I think he says they want to come inside and turns to the front door, and like Curtis slowly the camera pans kind of slowly to the window next to the front door and sees that Melody's out there. Um which Aya's voice is Melody's voice. Um and like it looks like she's just standing there. Again, I was like, maybe she's an AI robot, but no. Um, but like a creature basically like comes out of her body and like uh hands like burst through her and then like through the front door. It's like a jump scare scene where he like wakes up like it's a dream. Um, but it was not, it wasn't done poorly. Like it was a good um and there there are kind of like glitches in the movie where like a lot of it's like AI glitchy where like the faces get distorted or the scenes get glitchy and distorted, which is like part of the vibe of the movie. So I don't know. That was just like the best one where it was actually like kind of good, scary. So I don't know. I think that'd be my razor glass.

Wilson 45:11

Okay, that's a good one.

Captain 45:14

Is there any um I don't know if there's any hot goose about the movie?

Trivia Takeaways And Next Pick

Wilson 45:18

I looked at it, um, it's nothing like that interesting. I mean, it's one person pointed out, and I saw this on Letterboxd too. It's just it's pretty it's fairly similar to Smart House. Like, I'm not saying they're duplicates of each other at all. The Disney movie Smart House.

Captain 45:31

So I don't remember have have I've watched that movie.

Wilson 45:34

It's really good. I watched it again like two years ago. Um it's like a PG-13 and like a PG movie, like it's like it's yeah, but if I were given the option between these two movies, I would watch Smart House like every day.

Captain 45:48

Smart House has better reviews. Oh, this is not animated.

Wilson 45:54

No.

Captain 45:56

Oh, I think I have seen this movie actually. I can't remember. I do like Katie Segal.

Wilson 46:06

Yeah, I mean she's great. Ryan Merriman is in like a bunch of Disney movies. Um like Reading Rainbow, Star Trek.

Captain 46:17

Oh, okay. Why do I know Kevin Kilner? Why do I know that face?

Wilson 46:23

Uh because maybe you saw this movie.

Captain 46:27

I mean, he isn't a bunch of stuff, but I maybe. Oh, he's I don't know. Um, I I can I don't know if I've seen that movie. 99? I have no idea. Not recently. Um I do see the things about how yeah, the other titles that they have in here are also bad. Like Afraid's definitely the best, because they listen is dumb is dumb, and then home, I guess that would have been the name of the AI.

Wilson 46:55

But why is like the O and the M capitalized?

Captain 46:58

Like, I think that would have been like the name of the AI. Oh, something annoying in this movie is they say Alexa in the movie, and then of course my Alexa's blabbing away over there in the corner. Like, motherfucker. Um They gotta stop doing that. Oh, and then did you see this? How the that says the logo of Aya is almost identical to the logo of the Doomsday Killer? Is that I meant to look that up. I saw that too, but I was like Oh, well, he wasn't in the original Dexter. David. Like there would have been a connection, but he was this would have been before he was ever this would have been in the original Dexter. Who are you talking about? The BDI guy was in Dexter Resurrection. So like there would have in my head, I was like, there's a connection, but technically Dexter Resurrection is like a different show. Like it's not Dexter.

Wilson 47:47

Oh, yeah, yeah. I um I okay, I think I see the logo for the Doomsday Killer. I don't see the I don't see how they look similar.

Captain 48:00

Yeah, I it's like whatever. I would have never pulled that out of my head. Let's say that.

Wilson 48:05

No, I think some of these trivia things that we see on these movies are just people that are like trying really hard to find connections. I'm like, there's I don't think there's anything there.

Captain 48:17

Yeah. We don't need it. I don't need it. Um yeah. Yeah, I don't think there's anything. I mean, yeah, I I agree with you. The takeaway of this movie is like just accept AI, which is like, okay, well, I don't like that takeaway. And then the movie's not also good or like interesting, so like I wouldn't recommend. Yeah. It's not, it's just, you know, the whole thing is giving a little bit of AI slop. Like inside the movies AI slop, outside the movies AI slop from an outsider, your your slow head nod here. Um, yeah, I don't know. It's just like not my favorite.

Wilson 48:56

I mean, like, if your thing is like you're really into on a kick to watch like a bunch of AI uh goes bad movies, sure, watch it. It's fine from that respect.

Captain 49:07

But like I'm not watching Megan. I don't know.

Wilson 49:10

Yeah, there's so many others you could watch. And also I don't want I don't want to be more reminded of like how probably fucked we are with AI anyway, that like I don't I don't need to watch a movie though.

Captain 49:23

I really like that. Have you seen that TikTok guy that like asks AI questions and it just shows how dumb AI is? I think so.

Wilson 49:30

I feel like you sent me I think you sent me a couple.

Captain 49:33

I love those videos. I don't know, they make me feel better. Yeah. Um, but anyway, that's yeah, uh, wouldn't recommend is my takeaway. Um really excited for next week. Next week we're doing Hello Mary Lou Prom Night 2, which you put on the list, and this is probably one of my favorite picks you put on the list.

Wilson 49:55

Wow, okay. I mean, you can only go up after like that Ernest movie.

Captain 49:59

So Oh, the Covenant movie? I was like, Jesus Christ. You always put some weird shit in there. And anyway, um, nah, I actually was not mad about that movie, so um, I'm excited. And it's like an evil, it's like a high school prom, but there's a ghost basically causing havoc. Um so yeah. I watched it on Tubi for free.

Wilson 50:24

I think I did too.

Captain 50:27

Um, but yeah, so that's next week. Do you have any um you got any uh advice?

Wilson 50:36

Advice for you.

Captain 50:38

Yeah, based on Aya's bullshit.

Wilson 50:42

Throw out your Alexa.

Captain 50:45

Alexa probably should, honestly, but we uh Okay.

Wilson 50:49

We threw out our Googles, even though I mean our phones are listening, but I was just like they are always listening. Yeah.

Captain 50:57

But I mean, sometimes it's helpful. 99% of the time at what while I ask her is what's the weather tomorrow? It's like I could just go to my app, but sometimes I don't feel like it.

Wilson 51:07

Yeah.

Captain 51:08

But anyway, okay, that's good advice. Throw her out, get her out of here.

Wilson 51:12

She's out girl scout.