A trailer for the Blumhouse / Chris Weitz AI horror film Afraid (formerly known as They Listen) promotes August release
Sony had been planning to give director Chris Weitz’s horror film They Listen a theatrical release on August 25th of 2023, but in May of last year they decided to delay the release an entire year, pushing They Listen to August 30, 2024. With that date swiftly approaching, we knew the marketing for the film had to start any time now… and as it turns out, it has started today. They Listen has been retitled Afraid, and a trailer for the film can be seen in the embed above.
Afraid is coming to us from Sony, Blumhouse, and Depth of Field. Weitz is producing the film with Jason Blum and Andrew Miano. Bea Sequeira, Dan Balgoyen, Britta Rowings, and Paul Davis serve as executive producers. Filming took place in Los Angeles back in December of 2022.
Along the with release of the trailer comes, finally, some information on what this movie is actually about. All details were being kept under wraps until now. In AFRAID, Curtis (John Cho) and his family are selected to test a revolutionary new home device: a digital family assistant called AIA. Taking smart home to the next level, once the unit and all its sensors and cameras are installed in their home, AIA seems able to do it all. She learns the family’s behaviors and begins to anticipate their needs. And she can make sure nothing – and no one – gets in her family’s way.
John Cho (Searching) is joined in the cast by Katherine Waterston (Alien: Covenant), Havana Rose Liu (No Exit), Lukita Maxwell (Shrinking), Riki Lindhome (Wednesday), Keith Carradine (Fear the Walking Dead), Ben Youcef (SEAL Team), and Wyatt Linder (Little America).
Chris Weitz went uncredited on his feature directorial debut American Pie, which he directed alongside his brother Paul Weitz. He has gone on to direct Down to Earth, About a Boy, The Golden Compass, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, A Better Life, and Operation Finale. They Listen is a continuation of a working relationship between Weitz and Cho that stretches all the way back to American Pie. Weitz has only directed Cho in two movies previously, American Pie and Down to Earth, but Weitz was a producer on American Pie 2, American Wedding, American Reunion, See This Movie, In Good Company, Bickford Shmeckler’s Cool Ideas, American Dreamz, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Columbus, and A Happening of Monumental Proportions, all of which had Cho as a cast member. Weitz also co-created the short-lived TV series Off Centre, which starred Cho.
What did you think of the trailer for Afraid? Will you be catching this movie on the big screen in August? Let us know by leaving a comment below.