Was drawn into seeing 'Selfie from Hell' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing if not creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.
'Selfie from Hell' is a film it doesn't do enough with its potential (although there are far bigger wastes of potential in film) and could have been much better, can't say that it is a great film because it isn't. It is not a terrible film though, as far as recent low-budget film viewings go it's one of the lacklustre but watchable ones easily. It certainly could have been far worse, considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre at best and terrible at worst.
Although 'Selfie from Hell' is far from great and could have been much better, will agree who consider the rating too low. Have seen far worse films recently that have a higher rating, for example a few irredeemably awful films that get around 4.4.
Lets start with the positives. The setting is atmospheric and spooky and 'Selfie from Hell' is surprisingly well shot and easy on the eye, was expecting a cheap looking film and to me that wasn't the case here.
'Selfie from Hell's' at least doesn't have one want to tear their hair out or annoyed. There are suspenseful and creepy moments and there are parts that capture the horror of this very dangerous subject very well.
Albeit, it could have explored the subject more. It could have been more enlightening and said more of what was not already known. The creepiness is not sustained all the way through, with the horror and tension giving away later to dullness and a lack of creativity and shocks. Things start not making much sense and gets silly. The acting is not amateurish as such but is uninspired.
Further issues are that it was clear that it was written in haste. There is a very rushed and careless feel to the story, especially in the second half where confusion and choppy can be found, and the underdeveloped and scrappy script likewise. The characters are flimsily developed and bland, the direction lacks focus and the music is far too intrusive, sounds cheap and irritating.
In conclusion, lacklustre but not a waste of time. 4/10 Bethany Cox
Selfie from Hell
2018
Action / Horror / Mystery
Selfie from Hell
2018
Action / Horror / Mystery
Plot summary
Julia, an online vlogger from Germany, comes to the US to visit her cousin Hannah. Upon her arrival, Julia falls fatefully ill, prompting Hannah's suspicion of the strange and sudden illness. When unusual happenings start taking place in her home, Hannah begins a relentless internet search to discover the cause. She comes across Julia's vlog entries and finds herself immersed deep in the web - too deep - in a place where terror knows no end.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Hellish messaging
Drab Internet-based horror
SELFIE FROM HELL is another awful independent horror outing dealing with the Internet. The story is mainly told via a single actress interacting with screens and various social media applications as she attempts to solve a mystery involving her sick cousin. The film's attempts to flirt with the notorious "dark web" are the only interesting part of an otherwise hackneyed and time-wasting tale. It's cheap, drab, and oh-so-digital, with grey filters that suck every bit of life from the story. The "horror" is limited to loud noises and scary faces, basic stuff that doesn't raise the heartbeat at all. Round it out with zero characterisation and bad acting and you have a real waste of time.
Poor effort 2/10
Ok the acting was good except for the sister character, and cinematography solid enough.
But... oh no, no other redeeming features. Lots of silly jump scares and a real paint by numbers approach to horror. Oh let's go on the dark web, and I'll talk to myself as I'm on google so the audience knows what's going on. It was like copy-paste from lots of better films with no heart or originality. This social media horror genre is one I'll be avoiding, too many turkeys.