An unsuspecting Asian American family experiences what it’s like to be under the spell of artificial intelligence in “Afraid,” the latest horror-thriller film from Sony Pictures.

For its lead star, John Cho, the movie’s theme hits close to home.

The story deals with how most people rely on tech devices and willingly invite potentially dangerous situations into their homes and everyday lives.

"It was really the online learning during the pandemic that I started to think about how reliant we are on these devices, especially when it comes to our children," Cho said. "I'm just trying to think about the consequences a little bit more moving forward."

The film was written and directed by Chris Weitz, whose extensive film credits include “American Pie,” “About a Boy,” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

The movie is, in a way, the filmmaker’s attempt at coming to terms with his own fears as a parent in the digital age.

Asked of his inspiration to write the story, Weitz said it was having a family.

"I realized how much time my children were spending with the Internet in one form or another," he said, "and realizing that the internet is kind of like a neighborhood that we all live in, no matter how safe we think our own neighborhood is." 

Weitz also said that having worked with Cho in the last 25 years, he wrote it with Cho in mind, quipping: "knowing that he would sort of play like a handsome version of me."

In-demand Filipino-Australian influencers Angelo and Lexy Marasigan were among the select group of moviegoers who were invited to the film’s recent special screening.

"I believe in our personal lives," said Angelo. "As much as social media has done well for us, there also are a lot of scary parts of doing the job."

Lexy, meanwhile, said she still finds AI scary at times.

"What calms me down is that I think about the people behind the scenes of AI actually programming it," she said. "It calms me down a little."

“Afraid” is now showing in the U.S. and will come out on Sept. 4 in the Philippines.