From Writer and Director Tara Subkoff (The Cell 2000, How Do You Know 2010) comes the teenage cyber-bullying Thriller of the generation. Confusing to say the least, #Horror was able to dig deep into what girls really think and do while being victims of a bully. Though the Thriller was not rated and built so much hype for nothing, it included such talented actors such as Chloë Sevigny (American Psycho 2000, Zodiac 2007) as Alex, Timothy Hutton (Secret Window 2004, The Ghost Writer 2010) as Dr. Michael White, Balthazar Getty (Brothers & Sisters 2006, The Judge 2014) as Harry, Taryn Manning (8 mile 2002, Orange is the New Black series) as Gloria, and Natasha Lyonne (American Pie 1999, Kate & Leopold 2001) as Emma. While these character were important, the young actors take the cake and the most on-screen time – Sadie Seelert (Callie Wants A Solo 2013) as Sam, Haley Murphy (Silent House 2011, My Best Day 2012) as Cat, Bridget McGarry (Alien Dawn 2013, Louder Than Bombs 2015) as Sofia, Blue Lindeberg (debut film) as Ava, Mina Sundwall (The Water Gun Chronicles 2013, A Good Marriage 2014) as Francesca, and Emma Adler (debut film) as Georgie. #Horror premiered on November 18, 2015 at the Museum of Modern Art and was released on VOD on November 20, 2015 by IFC Midnight.
- Still from #Horror
When Sofia’s father is murdered by an unknown assailant, her mother Alex thinks the worst has happened – that he is cheating on her – and goes to the safest place she knows where she can get some peace of mind. Meanwhile, Sam is being driven by her mom Emma, but their lack of wealth stimulates Sam to make her mom stop before getting into Sofia’s mansion out of embarrassment. Francesca, Ava, and Georgie are already at Sofia’s sleepover, and when Sam gets there she hears them over talking negatively about her. Cat is being driven by her father Michael and it is established that Cat has had psychological problems and is known for bullying other girls.
- Still from #Horror
At the mansion, the girls are having a typical girls’ sleepover. Dancing, drinking, gossiping, and bullying are taking effect amongst the girls. When Cat starts bullying Georgie for her weight, the girls think she is going overboard, even by their standards. They kick out Cat and she leaves throwing a hardcore psychological tantrum. Michael comes knocking hard on the door, asking for answers for her daughter Cat and leaves the rest of the girls scared for their life. The problem starts when the girls start being murdered one by one and no one has an idea of who might be the killer or the reason why he or she is killing them. With the stakes dwindling by the minute, will this cyber game of death eradicate all the girls, or will some emerge victorious and live to tell the next tale?
- Still from #Horror
It is always important to know that low-budget Thrillers cannot give a lot of entertainment; though some have been known to be the biggest movie events of the year. With that said, #Horror flopped horrifically in all of its 101 minutes of length. The lack of organization was not the only problem this movie had. Learan Kahanov’s cinematography was actually good and so was the acting of said a-list artists, but it is almost as if the director did not care enough about the overall quality of the film.
It should be noted that viewers need to be extra focused to understand the plot in its entirety. #Horror became a little comical with all the cartoonish transitioning scenes; what was supposed to be fun and modern, turned out to be an over usage of CGI material. All in all, #Horror is recommended to watch only if you have exhausted all your other options. Sometimes these low budget movies are a diamond in the rough, but this one was leaning more towards the basic side. CrypticRock gives #Horror 2.5 out of 5 stars.
- IFC Midnight
){kind=link}
No comment