Delayed Reaction: Cam

The Pitch: What's another way that found footage can be used for horror?

A webcam model has her identity stolen by a possibly supernatural force.

I was going to wait a while longer to see this movie. I try to space out certain types of movies so that my watchlist doesn't have too much of a leering quality to it. I don't want it to look like gratuitous nudity is a key factor in how I choose my horror movies. Also, I like to save horror movies for a sunny day. I bumped Cam up in my queue simply because I heard someone I didn't expect praising the opening of the film on a podcast. Frankly, I don't hear enough horror recommendations from general movie podcasts or reviewers, so I considered this a good sign.

I've definitely been to cam sites before; enough to recognize familiar characters and the patter of the chats. And, I have to say, this movie really captures that whole scene. It looks and sounds very authentic. So, props for verisimilitude.

I really liked Madeline Brewer in the lead role. She's a great performer for something like this. She's attractive enough to be a convincing, successful camgirl, but there's something menacing about her too. The menace shouldn't be a surprise. She also plays the deranged Janine in The Handmaid's Tale. Frankly, the surprising part of the movie was how thoroughly normal she can be.

While the webcam aspect of the film is the "gimmick", the filmmakers don't overdo it. This isn't a "found footage" movie. That's only part of it. In a way, the webcam is the malevolent force, not the lens for the movie. I don't think the filmmakers knew what to do with the premise, and that's my big issue with the movie. The closer they got to explaining what was going on - how Alice was getting her identity stolen - the less interested I was. I don't really understand what was going on. Does this thing just exist on the internet or in real life? Did it kill that other girl or is her death just a coincidence? Why would it give away its password? Why does Alice smashing her face in defeat it? It really felt like the screenwriter was scrambling toward the end. I do like the very, very end though, when she restarts the cycle. She's her own worst enemy after all. Thematically on the nose, but fitting nonetheless.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend