Generative AI is the current hot topic, whether we like it or not. Even though it negatively impacts the environment and robs us of creativity and meaning, people are adamant about using the technology. Horror film Do You Want To Play? criticises AI, yet the filmmakers don’t seem to condemn it as their narrative does.
Wasting no time diving into the action, the opening credits play over a flashback sequence of a young boy facing off with a possessed, killer dad. Whilst the violent end will satisfy gorehounds, the rest of the introduction sets the tone of what’s to come: poor writing, bland cinematography, and generally poor execution.
A shame, since the premise of Do You Want To Play? actually has some promise. Our protagonist is young high schooler Emily (Quinn Aune), leading a seemingly normal life until she uses a Ouija board at a party. The party host, Owen (Maxwell Mushallo), obsessed with the supernatural, has created a Ouija board app that unwittingly brings forth the demonic soul of a killer. Whether the language used to commune with the dead is Latin or Python, a door will still open to dark places. Director Nick Lyon has created a horror flick aimed squarely at younger generations, complete with AI, apps and streaming. A shame that the idea is completely wasted.
That opening kill featuring a terrific face rip is all you’re going to get in terms of fun horror violence. Other set pieces come across as amateurish and ineffective, with dialogue, effects and direction all failing to get across the danger factor. Lyon fails to deliver any scares; again they’re poorly staged and edited, with supposedly scary imagery awkwardly blocked out and composed within the frame. All of this could have been forgiven—there are plenty of horror movies that still have fun with its low-budget production—if the rest of the film wasn’t so bland.
Now, to address the elephant in the room. Whilst Lyon or anyone else hasn’t confirmed nor denied this, there is obvious use of generative AI. Do You Want To Play? has young characters slate AI slop, yet so much generative AI has been used across the film. Whether it’s muddy details in the Ouija app, cars appearing in and out of the background, awful-looking environments or newspaper articles spouting nonsense, the use of generative AI goes against the narrative thesis—and against any kind of creative moral code. The fact that the end credits fail to address that the production used generative AI suggests Lyon and his team knew what they were doing was wrong; a bigger crime than the lacklustre film they made.
Some performances from the cast are noteworthy. Aune shows range between meekish high schooler and possessed girl, and Mushallo is clearly having a blast with his egotistical rich kid. But their work is overshadowed by the cursed post-production. A demonic soul is scary enough, but the use of generative AI is something else entirely.
Do You Want To Play? had its world premiere at FrightFest 2026 on Saturday, August 30
