First off, (for those who don't know, (I was one of them) 'Screamer' videos are those once popular internet pranks where you complete a maze or watch a short video, then a horrifying face pops up on your screen accompanied by loud scream, which scares the s**t out of you.
There could have been a good, Ring-esque plot to this film - somekind of supernatural entity uses the Screamer videos to kill people. The writer of this film, howeverm, didn't have such a great idea.
Weirdly for a horror film, the weak sauce horror is confined to the last 15 minutes of the film. 90% of this movie is nothing more than a in-house mockumentary, with interviews with the members of staff at an internet company (what they do exactly is unclear, at least to me).
The company is sent a couple of Screamer videos featuring the same woman and after reading comments the staff figure out there's a good chance she's a woman who went missing a couple of years before. So they decide to become investigative journalists (still no horror up to this point).
After some investigation, computer hacking and rewatching the first video. The staff talk to the woman who submitted the video, who sounds like she's in an abusive relationship with someone called Francis. They realise the first video contains the grave of Jack the Ripper suspect Francis Tumblety and decide there's some sort of hoax going on.
With the home address of the woman who sent the video, the staff decide to pay her a visit and demand an explanation (which is where the horror finally comes in).
The horror and scares in this film are very weak. When the killer finally does appear (in the same mask he wears in the Screamer videos) and takes out the main characters nothing is really shown because the whole film is done with handheld cameras and phones.Its a lot of build up to not a lot.
What I disliked most about this film is that there's too much mystery - too many unanswered questions. Like, who is Francis and why does he kill people? Why has he kidnapped a young woman and had somekind of weird relationship with her for two years rather than just killing her? What was the point in including Francis Tumblety's grave? Was the killer trying to emulate Jack the Ripper? Was he actually somehow JtR? Why did Francis make Screamer videos? If it was a way to lure people in, then it was a poor way, the only way the staff were able to find his home was through computer hacking (most people can't do that).
This confused film is 98% mockumentary, 1.9% slasher flick and 0.01% supernatural horror (Francis chases someone outside his home to kill them and at the same time seems to be in a closet killing (or not) someone else).
The film ends with Abbi (member of staff) in a new Screamer video, which again begs the question 'What's the point of the Screamer videos?'
I wouldn't really recommend this film unless you really want to watch a 'horror' film and have nothing else to watch.
There could have been a good, Ring-esque plot to this film - somekind of supernatural entity uses the Screamer videos to kill people. The writer of this film, howeverm, didn't have such a great idea.
Weirdly for a horror film, the weak sauce horror is confined to the last 15 minutes of the film. 90% of this movie is nothing more than a in-house mockumentary, with interviews with the members of staff at an internet company (what they do exactly is unclear, at least to me).
The company is sent a couple of Screamer videos featuring the same woman and after reading comments the staff figure out there's a good chance she's a woman who went missing a couple of years before. So they decide to become investigative journalists (still no horror up to this point).
After some investigation, computer hacking and rewatching the first video. The staff talk to the woman who submitted the video, who sounds like she's in an abusive relationship with someone called Francis. They realise the first video contains the grave of Jack the Ripper suspect Francis Tumblety and decide there's some sort of hoax going on.
With the home address of the woman who sent the video, the staff decide to pay her a visit and demand an explanation (which is where the horror finally comes in).
The horror and scares in this film are very weak. When the killer finally does appear (in the same mask he wears in the Screamer videos) and takes out the main characters nothing is really shown because the whole film is done with handheld cameras and phones.Its a lot of build up to not a lot.
What I disliked most about this film is that there's too much mystery - too many unanswered questions. Like, who is Francis and why does he kill people? Why has he kidnapped a young woman and had somekind of weird relationship with her for two years rather than just killing her? What was the point in including Francis Tumblety's grave? Was the killer trying to emulate Jack the Ripper? Was he actually somehow JtR? Why did Francis make Screamer videos? If it was a way to lure people in, then it was a poor way, the only way the staff were able to find his home was through computer hacking (most people can't do that).
This confused film is 98% mockumentary, 1.9% slasher flick and 0.01% supernatural horror (Francis chases someone outside his home to kill them and at the same time seems to be in a closet killing (or not) someone else).
The film ends with Abbi (member of staff) in a new Screamer video, which again begs the question 'What's the point of the Screamer videos?'
I wouldn't really recommend this film unless you really want to watch a 'horror' film and have nothing else to watch.