Jane Schoenbrun
2021
86 minutes
Going into this film, you know some of the basics. Or at least you think you do. You assume it's a found-footage vibe film with an internet bent, sort of like The Ring mixed with the old Bloody Mary urban legend campfire tale. Participants do a little ritual and then watch a spooky internet video and then wait and share their experiences. You're going to be watching a teenage girl do the little spiel on her webcam and then be creeped out as increasingly weird things happen to her that are possibly supernatural but end up having some mundane explanation. Or do they??? But of course it's going to be at least artsy enough and well-done enough and perhaps even somewhat subtle to have a good reputation outside the usual slasher gore horror fandom.
What you get, in fact, is very different. It's more like a sadder, spookier version of Ghost World with a realistic downer ending along with some unanswered questions and very unreliable narration. You can imagine a lot of naive horror fans walking away from this one either unsatisfied or unsettled by something hitting a bit too close to home for their comfort, from one end or the other. Even if it doesn't, this one is likely to get under your skin if you've ever had any sort of lopsided parasocial relationships with anyone online when one or both of you have questionable mental health. This could be an entire cringe-internet-horror genre of its own.
High-empathy types are likely to find this film devastating. Good luck recovering after this if you're one of those. It will live under your skin for a good while.
Time to choose something different: