In recent years, horror and technology have converged. From
found-footage films that use drones to entire plot lines needing the internet
or Skype to function, these movies have a growing history in the genre.
Building on this new world of digitalization and tying into last week's list of
these movies is the newly released Like.Share.Follow.
Following a semi-famous teen Youtuber and his friends, Like.Share.Follow.
is a winding exploration of obsessive celebrity culture and the length fans
believe themselves to be a part of the lives of constantly status updating celebrities.
Released alongside Totem by Cinemax, The movie takes a turn when a young
woman decides to take her obsession to the next level and go from
online-stalker to physical stalker, as she seeks out and becomes romantically
attached to the Youtuber. The film stars Keiynan Lonsdale (Insurgent) as
Garret, the Youtuber who is tricked into a relationship with his obsessive
fan, Shell, played by Ema Horvath (Burning Kentucky).
Like many teen horror films, the quality of Like.Share.Follow.
resides mostly in entertainment value, rather than actual scares. And unlike
the aforementioned and previously reviewed Totem, Like.Share.Follow. is
truly fun. Far more watchable thanks to Lonsdale who carries a large portion of
the film on his charisma alone, Like.Share.Follow. isn't all that
groundbreaking or original. But, it's definitely better than the comparative Totem
and certainly way more enjoyable to watch. Horvath is also great in her
role as the unhinged girl who simply cannot process that what she's doing is
quite insane.
Like.Share.Follow. works best as an exploration of youth and digitalization. The
very intimate nature of social media and the connection celebrities now must
maintain with fans is on full display throughout the movie. Despite it's been
there-done-that stalker premise, the heavy hand of modern life helps it stand
out. This isn't just another recreation of The Roommate or Misery,
it's its own thing altogether. It’s the type of movie that in a world of short
attention spans is capable of holding audiences attentions with all its new
gizmos and gadgets and atmosphere of “what-ifs.”
Like.Share.Follow. does the most with its stale narrative. With plenty of
youth-driven plot devices and a great final punch, it's hard to deny the
movie's personality. Turning out great performances by young stars and
capturing the unhinged nature of stan culture, this movie is worth sitting
through - even if you find that your phone is out the majority of the time. 6
out 10.
As new technologies come forward, older generations seem more
and more troubled by these progressive inventions. From fears of robot
domination to unnerving sources of knowledge in phones, the real life horror of
some advances is mostly overreaction. But, in the horror industry, the digital
era comes with a bed full of terrifying possibilities to strike fear in
viewers. From VHS tapes to Skype, filmmakers have plenty of options to terrify
audiences of every age. Unfortunately, some of these films just can't capture
terror. But, while movies like The Circle failed to make an impact,
others like those on this week's list can stun and scare. These movies
use current, real-life technology to make audiences afraid of their
computers, media players and phones. They're not quite as futuristic as say, I,
Robot, but that's what makes them even more haunting - they could (probably
not, though) happen.
10. Friend Request
The constantly to-be-released Friend Request isn't
the scariest film, but it does a lot for the digital era of horror. Featuring some predictable, but good scares on Facebook
and a curse caused by a mysterious and troubled Facebook friend and classmate,
Friend Request makes the most of its mostly unfortunate lines of
dialogue and subpar plot. One jump scare in particular is especially fantastic
- so fantastic in fact, that it could elevate the film to slightly above
average, rather than mediocrely watchable.
9. Like.Share.Follow
Part teen drama, part horror film, this new horror film doesn't
break any ground, but it does a lot to pass the time. Exploring obsessive
internet stardom and the way in which young people become obsessed with
internet-famous stars, Like.Share.Follow. follows a stalker who becomes
far too attached to a charming Youtuber. As the film progresses, nothing quite
unpredictable happens, but for those searching for a more relevant and grounded
film, this one's it. It's a dark and scary spiral to mediocre insanity - but it’s
worth every second thanks to Keiynan Lonsdale (Dance Academy: The Movie)
who's charisma all but carries the film on his back.
Could strangers - and the government - be watching us
through our laptop webcams? The jury is still out on that one, but in Ratter
it takes this idea as fact and runs far with it. Make no mistake, this film,
which follows a young woman who moved to New York City for school and later
encounters a stalker, is a dreadfully slow burn. With nearly all the movie
playing out with increasingly suspicious moments, the terrifying encounter with
the stalker is dark and disturbing. Ratter is a home invasion flick
where the invader is almost entirely on the outside of the home.
Horror video games have their own special place in genre fans'
hearts. For years, their existence has pushed boundaries, terrified players and
made the horror experience more immersive and interactive. But, what happens
when a horror game transcends into real life? That's the premise of 2006's Stay
Alive. While somewhat dated, this entertaining and intriguing horror film
found a group of friends attempting to outlast their characters in a video game
with real world consequences. The premise of dying in a game and in turn,
actually dying isn't necessarily the most groundbreaking, but it is creative. Like
Jumanji for teens, Stay Alive is crazed and unrealistic, but
deeply terrifying.
The surprise hit that is Unfriended was pretty
revolutionary given that it takes place entirely on computer screens. The fact
that it pushed the genre in a new, exciting direction and was able to create
real scares and enough steam to impress audiences is shocking, but not
undeserved. While it's hard to believe audiences paid to go to a theater to
look at a computer screen, it’s not so hard to see why this movie was
successful. In the digital era it represented so much of youth culture and the
virality of online content. It showed consequences, that, while outlandish,
were terrifying and carried quite the anti-bullying message.
