What could potentially have been a decent independent film turned out to a "look at me film." The original premise was somewhat engaging and if they stuck with that it may have been better, but no, they had to go muddy it up with M. Night type twist at the end that was totally unnecessary. We don't need movies to have convoluted WOKE plots. To me, M. Night ran a few good movies with the big reveal ending, like Sixth Sense. Usual Suspects also come to mind, but that genre of films with the "shock reveal end" has been tested and tried and to me totally outdated and overdone now.
This would have worked better as a character, rather than a plot-driven movie. However, they also needed better actors. The lead guy is a low-energy bore-fest with no personality. Neither did his co-star. She was another bore. The "stalker" was more fun to watch, but they never took it to the full potential. Essentially a rip-off "Cable Guy" with a "twist at the end. But the reason why Cable Guy worked is that the characters and their relationship were the focus of the film. Here the plot became the focus, but when it finally ended I didn't care about any of them so the ending had no emotional connection. Frankly, because the writer seemed so keen on getting to the plot twist he forgot to write interesting and likable characters.
Another annoying thing was the constant social media screen popups. They have to figure out another way of showing text messaging etc without the annoying vertical screenshots. The "Look at me" is compounded with the use of anamorphic lenses to get the blue horizontal blue flares. They are totally overused, especially in the digital film world where filmmakers think it's more "cinematic" (whatever that means) to use them and show off their blue flares. Why do I bring it up? Because it gave the film an indie look, but not in a good way. It's not that anamorphic lenses are necessarily bad, but when you see it on every DP's reel and low-budget film in their attempt to make it look "Cinematic" it becomes overused like an old joke you've heard 50 times.
Also, the tone of the film didn't match the gore ending. It was someone told them, "hey we need some blood in this film" so they just randomly added it.
Even the secondary plot twist at the end was unfulfilling because it was rushed and really made no sense at all. You have to watch to find out what I am talking about, which I wouldn't recommend, so you may be in a pickle.
Lastly, some of the characters like the cops were so unbelievable in terms of cast and dialogue. Nothing was believable. There is a scene in the middle of the movie with a couple (not gonna give it away) that was so random, but for a second I thought it was in there to frame the lead character, which would have taken the movie in a better direction. They didn't.
Just the overall story was weak and I wish they had spent a bit more time on the writing.
I root for indie filmmakers so it is a shame when I see them fail such as the instant case.
If you wanna see Indie films go check out Sean Baker's films or watch this year's academy winner, Nomadland. Although Baker focusing on characters, he does lack some plot, like any plot, but nevertheless, his films have a more deeply rooted emotional connection, unlike this one.
This would have worked better as a character, rather than a plot-driven movie. However, they also needed better actors. The lead guy is a low-energy bore-fest with no personality. Neither did his co-star. She was another bore. The "stalker" was more fun to watch, but they never took it to the full potential. Essentially a rip-off "Cable Guy" with a "twist at the end. But the reason why Cable Guy worked is that the characters and their relationship were the focus of the film. Here the plot became the focus, but when it finally ended I didn't care about any of them so the ending had no emotional connection. Frankly, because the writer seemed so keen on getting to the plot twist he forgot to write interesting and likable characters.
Another annoying thing was the constant social media screen popups. They have to figure out another way of showing text messaging etc without the annoying vertical screenshots. The "Look at me" is compounded with the use of anamorphic lenses to get the blue horizontal blue flares. They are totally overused, especially in the digital film world where filmmakers think it's more "cinematic" (whatever that means) to use them and show off their blue flares. Why do I bring it up? Because it gave the film an indie look, but not in a good way. It's not that anamorphic lenses are necessarily bad, but when you see it on every DP's reel and low-budget film in their attempt to make it look "Cinematic" it becomes overused like an old joke you've heard 50 times.
Also, the tone of the film didn't match the gore ending. It was someone told them, "hey we need some blood in this film" so they just randomly added it.
Even the secondary plot twist at the end was unfulfilling because it was rushed and really made no sense at all. You have to watch to find out what I am talking about, which I wouldn't recommend, so you may be in a pickle.
Lastly, some of the characters like the cops were so unbelievable in terms of cast and dialogue. Nothing was believable. There is a scene in the middle of the movie with a couple (not gonna give it away) that was so random, but for a second I thought it was in there to frame the lead character, which would have taken the movie in a better direction. They didn't.
Just the overall story was weak and I wish they had spent a bit more time on the writing.
I root for indie filmmakers so it is a shame when I see them fail such as the instant case.
If you wanna see Indie films go check out Sean Baker's films or watch this year's academy winner, Nomadland. Although Baker focusing on characters, he does lack some plot, like any plot, but nevertheless, his films have a more deeply rooted emotional connection, unlike this one.