Want to know why you should check out Cody Calahan's Antisocial?
Social media is an awesome way to connect with friends and family to share experiences, ideas and so forth. But of course, it also opens the door to the stalkers, catfishers, loss of privacy and in this film’s case a violent outbreak.
As the opening credits start, we see two teenage girls recording a vlog on a camera. Things quickly get bloody when one of them attacks the other in the most violent way imaginable. It’s such an awesome start and made me wonder what was going to happen next!
We then meet struggling, college student Sam who has to take a class on New Year’s Eve. Sam has been trying to get in contact her boyfriend all day. She tries to call him to see if they can meet up but he ignores her call and instead offers an online video chat through a social website similar to Facebook called the Social Redroom. From their conversation Sam finds out that her boyfriend cheated on her and he suggests they spend some time apart. As soon as he hangs up on her, he changes his relationship status to single. Completely embarrassed, Sam deletes her Social Redroom account.
Later on, Sam decides to meet up with some friends for a small New Year’s Eve party. All of Sam’s friends are aware of her humiliating breakup and decide good old fashioned fun will cheer her up. At first things are looking up but then they take a turn for the worse. Things quite literally go to hell! There’s a violent epidemic outside that’s linked to the Social Redroom causing people to turn delusional, bloody and brutal all over the world. People become demented zombie-like creatures. As a result the Sam and her friends barricade themselves in the house. Unfortunately for these friends, the infection starts to spread inside the house. Throughout the film there is a news broadcast streaming and telling those who are unaffected to board up their houses. There are also dead bodies piling up and people updating their Social Redroom accounts with “RIPs” for their murdered friends.
What I love about Antisocial is that it takes place on a night filled with wild parties and promises people make to themselves. What makes Antisocial frightening is that it is an unseen being. I also love how director Cody Calahan introduces Sam’s friends by showing details about each character through their social profile on the Social Redroom. The dialogue in the film can be a bit cheesy and the pace can be a bit fast and messy, however Antisocial has a lot going for it.
Overall, I highly recommend Antisocial. It is a brilliant horror film that comments on our society’s addiction to social media. The message of the film is that we’re all slowly but surely turning into zombies. Now, excuse me while I go check Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
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