Social Nightmare (2013)

As Good As It Gets

An Exercise In Nonsense

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The Asylum is an awful company, truly embarrassing. They essentially ripoff existing blockbuster movies, yet every once in a while do something original......like this.Daryl Hannah may well be the biggest star The Asylum have ever had in one of their movies and she hams it up perfectly in this drama/thriller.The whole cyber bullying theme won't be new to you and has been done a great deal better but this isn't without its merits. A bearable cast makes the mundane script and beyond belief predictable "Twist" watchable.Though this brings nothing new to the table you can do a great deal worse. If however you want something similar but made better then give "Nowhere Safe" a go.

That's because the idea was brilliant, the negative effects of social media being very much a relevant issue and something that anybody would wholly relate to. And if done right, Social Nightmare also could have been good, what turned out to be though was a movie that was as far away from good as you could go. There are worse movies around and it at least has the idea and a decent performance from Kirsten Prout that salvages it somewhat. But not enough to ignore the badness of everything else, the worst thing being that the reveal of the perpetrator and their motive was not believable for a second(mainly because agreed the person was the least likely one to have done it and the movie at first made it like they couldn't possibly have done) and was actually rather insulting. The characters never rise above the cardboard, shallow stereotypes, and the writing had no natural flow, was lacking in any real sense and sounded increasingly ridiculous as Social Nightmare wore on. The story was just one lazy and WTF plot point after another complete with some irrelevant filler and the closer Social Nightmare gets to the end the duller it gets rather than more suspenseful and compelling, by the time you find out who was responsible you just don't care anymore. And that was reflected in the acting, with Rachel True and Daryl Hannah(at her most unattractive) phoning in and Tim Russ having very little to do, Prout is the one bright spot, you don't engage or identify with their situations and the characters and the actors act like they don't care either. The production values are very Lifetime-movie like, over-saturated colours, editing that jumps around and the odd overlong shot, Social Nightmare is flatly directed and the music is little more than a monotonous bore. In conclusion, an awful movie on its own and to have an idea as brilliant as this gone to total waste is unforgivable. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Starts slow, and kind of creepy, then turns into somewhat of a mystery suspense (almost) thriller. The creepy is Daryl Hannah, yeah she is sure creepy, but I guess that was what they were going for. A good movie with a warning to people that you are never safe, even from those closest to you. Over all this was well acted and I did Enjoy the story. Kristen Prout is really always good. She has that victim look down, but you can easily believe that she is whoever she wants you to. I would recommend this movie to anyone, but mostly parent, and older teens as it really isn't going to be relevant to the youngest generation as this will all have changed by the time they get there. This movie will not be as good in a few years, it just won't be the same types of media, but the story will be timeless, and no matter the media, the story will be able to fit it.

A definite call for watching what goes on regarding the internet.Is Darryl Hannah portraying a mommy-like-dearest character?The lives of two best friends shall head southward quickly when postings begin showing not such very nice things going on.The lives of the girls are literally turned upside down. College acceptances are rescinded, one girl, a previous honor student, may not graduate on time.Everyone is yelling at everyone else. Accusations are flying as the one girl who is allegedly doing this is protesting her innocence.You know something is amiss when a mother says that her daughter, as a result of all this, is so anxious that she says nothing when the doctor prescribes anxiety pills.Too much going on here for one's taste.