This movie was so disturbing for me knowing the dangers of the internet and that it seemed so realistic as if it happened for real. I liked the main character as well as the film it kept me in interest curious to see what's going to happen. I think that this movie has deep meanings as well especially to the young people that use these kind of sites.
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marinaant-3621723 March 2022
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(Contains spoilers. Read only if you have watched or don't care about spoilers)
This is one of the movies that I want remade. We are introduced to this new video networking forum, 'The Den' and this girl Elizabeth who takes up a job to study people all over the world through this software. The movie is shown through her web-cam, which I thought was a very new and innovative concept which worked very well too. We also see Elizabeth in her daily life, chatting with her boyfriend, friends and family. I love watching movies where they show casual conversations. Elizabeth going about her life felt very heartening and Elizabeth herself was a likable character - charming, quirky and sincere.
Then came the psychotic murder. That was fine too. But after that, we witness a series of bizarre, horrific events which slowly destroys the life of Elizabeth. Throughout the second half, I was left searching for meaning. We see Elizabeth trying to make sense of the things that happen around her. As the movie progressed, I increasingly, desperately hoped for things to become clearer and move towards a conclusion but no, they became more and more mysterious and chaotic. Finally, she is killed with utter nonchalance which makes us go, "Okay? What? That's it?" and we end up seeing a father watching videos of people getting murdered, the final message being that the internet is a sick and horrible place and the world is full of sick people, perhaps asking internet users to be more careful.
As far as I know, Elizabeth didn't do anything that could get her killed in the real world. She wanted to explore but she wasn't compromising security. Revealing name and face does not get you killed. Sure, the internet is a dark place but certain things were portrayed just to make sure that the movie follows the genre of horror. I would've made this movie into a thriller where she figures out the one behind all this and the culprit is captured. Clichéd perhaps but that would've been so much better. I had hoped, if not for a happy ending, a reasonably logical ending which would've given me closure. Even if they had wanted to make this into a horror, they could've at least stuck with her life throughout. We are thrust into her life with everything happening from her point of view and suddenly she's getting tortured everywhere and then she is just a body in a video. Ridiculous. It's sad seeing such good potential go haywire.
I give it a 6 on 10 for its promise in the first half. -
Now going into this I may be a little biased as I like found footage horror movies (as long as they aren't like Paranormal activity and such) and I find stuff related to internet stalking and the deep web EXTREMELY creepy. I found this movie to be quite terrifying and eerie. The way it begins sets it up seeming fairly innocent while fitting in the normal stuff you'd expect going through anonymous video chats, however it soon becomes much creepier. Don't read after this if you don't want spoilers.
One of the few things that utterly terrified me about this movie is how it began with a single killer, then transitioned to show another with him. It felt very natural and creepy. However I was caught off guard when they begin showing that its not just 2 but 10+ people possibly even more into the hundreds who were doing this internet stalking and murdering. I did not expect this at all but it was completely believable and very smart in my opinion.
I was also completely surprised by the ending, after watching lots of movies where someone lives to tell the tale, or the female main character beats the bad guys down (which I do love). I was not at all expecting everyone to die and for the guys to continue on. It completely terrified me as its not always common in horror movies as there seems to be a thing in horror movies since the very beginning that evil must be vanquished, so it was refreshing to see a change. And the kid walking in on his Dad paying to watch people die was just completely uncomfortable. For hours after watching I felt very untrustworthy of everyone around me and very uncomfortable at the thought that someone I love could be paying to watch these things.
Overall it is a great movie. A little too torture porn-y at times and too much blood and gore for my taste but still overall a great movie, definitely worth a watch. -
This movie is very fresh and modern. I've never seen a horror movie done like this before (webcam style). I honestly don't understand all the negative reviews here. This movie was very fun to watch, made me jump a few times, and the story unwound perfectly. Don't be asking yourself "why is she filming this" - that totally defeats the purpose of storytelling. I feel like too many people might be going into this movie with high expectations? Sure there are some logical errors, but what horror movie is completely devoid of those?
Actually, don't take my review into consideration. Only consider all the other negative reviews and just give this movie a try. Then perhaps you'll like it a bit more.
I feel like the build up was great, the storytelling was fresh, and the ending was clever. The overall plot and ending might be a bit too sick and twisted for some (probably not for the average horror movie goer), but this is actually real life. There are some sick people out there and I feel like this movie made a great commentary about it. -
savethemudkipz18 January 2015Unfortunately this movie's ending and 2nd half was just completely unrealistic. So you're telling me if you were getting hacked you'd still leave the laptop open at all times? A typical start when the cops and even her friends are doubting her, telling her she is crazy. There's a few comedy bits sprinkled throughout the movie, mostly involving penis videos. The plot gets messy once they kill an actual officer and it is discovered that there's possibly dozens of people working in this operation in some possibly nearby area, something that would definitely not be possible in the modern 1st world country. The ending really turned me off, the female lead almost escapes but gets captured, and forced to die on a web cam. Then it shows some dude watching it, for sexual pleasure? Then he pays to watch another video, you know because the FBI/NSA wouldn't have cracked down on that site and be raiding his house within seconds. Highly unrealistic, they should have kept a simple plot from the beginning and had people BE realistic about the situation. That pregnant woman was almost killed but she still slept alone in that house afterwords? what? eh
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jmbwithcats23 March 2014The movie is an interesting commentary on the internet being a distraction of stupidity.
It leads people to their deaths, but people are addicted to watching others demise that it creates a sort of circle of dysfunction...
Ultimately, I was engrossed as a sort of VHS style found footage genre offering, but it did have a few interesting things to say on the entitled society we live in today, of easy gratification, replacement of impersonal and fear based living behind a screen for the beauty of the natural world.
It's available on demand, which is apropos to the plot point of the story. -
gand730 January 2015I suppose I went into this expecting something pretty terrible. I've not been too impressed with "found footage" films as of late, with "Afflicted" probably being the most enjoyable one in years, so it was a surprise when this one turned out to be a decent flick. It's certainly not perfect, as you'll see, there is a certain suspension of disbelief required to enjoy it, otherwise you'll be frustrated at some of the things that occur during the movie. Ghosts and aliens work better for me at this, as I can assume they both have some sort of upper edge going for them that the average person does not, so it's when the bad guy is the average person that I find their almost psychic ability to predict the most random of actions by their unwitting victims to be rather implausible.
For example, it's a little difficult to miss a full grown man sitting in the back of your car, particularly when approaching the car from the rear. One wrong glance and the predator would have become the prey. His hapless victim now being in a wide open space and standing over him where he is in a confined space sitting down. Seems like a pretty big risk to take on the gamble that the guy's gonna be looking in another direction the entire time it takes for him to walk to his car. Another example being a police officer entering a house that has been described to him as likely being a target of a vicious killer. As soon as he reaches the door, the lights are dead and the house has been ransacked, two immediate red flags that would make any actual police officer immediately request back up first and then search and secure the premises top to bottom before stopping to inspect any distractions, including a screaming laptop. Of course, it doesn't happen, and of course, the killer has somehow predicted this through some absurd logic or roll of the dice that simply doesn't work with my humble thought process.
Like I said, it's enjoyable enough, particularly the more realistic first half of the film which some more gratuitous horror fans will probably be bored by. It tends to head into slasher/torture porn territory in the second half and becomes even less believable with a lot of things that simply wouldn't happen in such circumstances taking place and making you facepalm in frustration. The acting was decent enough, the camera work was actually pretty solid, the music I won't comment on. Either I had the volume down too low or I didn't really pay attention to it during the film. All in all, don't expect anything fantastic and you'll probably find it's a decent horror/thriller to watch in a pinch. 6.5/10 -
timothygartin18 January 2022This movie is a little gem. It's been out for a while, but I just saw it. I liked it. I think the story is contrived as to how to how the victim is selected and stalked, but aside from that, it works. I liked the characters. The story is simple and the scares are good. It is not a found footage movie any more than "fear dot com" or "Unfriended" would be, but it is a good entry in the social media horror sub-genre.
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**Possible spoilers *** The most disappointing thing about this one is it started off with so much potential and good execution, and then collapsed into stupidity. Cast with some actual talent who weren't stumbling around in front of the camera , a tightened script that wasn't stuffed with ad libs and improv being tossed off inexperienced actors, and production that didn't look like they went shopping at the dollar store. It even handled the found footage camera excuse with a nice twist, at least at first. It hums along building up a good head of steam, and then at the halfway mark, totally crashes and burns. Of course there's the inevitable and inexcusable camera angles as they keep their phones pointed at their faces while they run from murderers or phones drop at just the right angles during the attacks. Plot holes you could drive a bus through like strangers strolling through crime scenes surrounded by police and even interviewing witnesses or moving and removing evidence in full view of a dozen detectives, or expert computer techs who can't find spy-ware but can evaluate a multi server IP address, or cams that work even after hard drives have been wiped. Then it gets worse as it warps into some sort of Saw meets Texas Chainsaw movie, with even more plot travesty like not stopping unarmed killer with your sledgehammer. Then, the ending twist you can see coming a mile away, topped off with the writer/director wanting to make ' a point' at the last scene. So disappointing. Typical when writer/director is the same person.
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upsdude-658-47466912 July 2014This is an excellent low budget horror flick that is more real life than any other type horror flicks out there it contains graphic details and should not be viewed by minors and people with heart problems or tend to have nightmares after watching intense horror flicks but overall it was well made and deserves recognition for its role as a real life,and could certainly happen in these dark times ,this murderous and frightful tale of what can actually happen to someone when probing the dark world of internet streaming and all of the sick individuals that visit and explore this type of lifestyle. The movie goes into what could happen to each and everyone of us that dares venture into the world of cyberspace.
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Its an OK film but one thing really bugged me. Why would you video yourself getting chased by a lunatic?! Its wrecks the feeling of fear in the movie. Instead of believing that the character was getting chased, I just kept thinking why don't you just drop your phone and get something more useful like a gun or something?! I think they should have not shot this movie purely with the characters cameras. I don't even know how these types of movies are getting popular. Like paranormal activity. Its just a bunch of poorly shot footage that is suppose to be scary. People the the film making industry are getting lazy to get those different amazing shots with the camera.
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Cautionary tale finds a young woman, Elizabeth, receiving a grant to study the habits of webcam chat users. Elizabeth uses a site that allows her to randomly chat with literally anyone on her chat site all over the world.
Things quickly go bad as she and her friends and family are drawn into a nightmare from which they can't escape. I don't want to give anything else away as the reveals are so much fun.
This gruesome found footage horror has almost everything you could ask for in a horror movie. Parts of it almost play as a slasher and it has a lot of scares. I found references to several other popular horror movies and had a great time with this one.
If you are a fan of found footage please give it a try. Most of you won't be disappointed. -
amber-e9513 March 2015I did enjoy this movie, don't get me wrong, there was some good tense moments and on the whole it's a pretty smart way to go about their sinister desires. I know if someone sent me a video depicting someone being murdered I would think it was someone's idea of a sick joke... But there's also too many moments in this film where I wanted to whack them round the head myself! Under no circumstances, would a pregnant woman living alone, after just receiving a call from their friend screaming at them to get out the house, upon hearing clattering somewhere in the house go and look for the perpetrator!! Having experienced pregnancy myself, I can tell you that every instinct in your body would scream at you to get the f#ck out of there. There were a few more incidents like this that frustrated me beyond belief and the ending reminded me of a techno version of Hostel but all in all, not a bad watch if you're looking for a mild horror to watch alone one evening :)
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kaitoukid-772-20773715 August 2014This movie is by far one of the lamest and most unsatisfactory horror movies I've ever seen. Second only to Dark Skies. The end offers very little explanation and leaves the viewer with a lot of questions and more than a little frustrated. The plot takes twists and turns and ultimately turns around and goes backward leaving the conflict unresolved (kinda like Dark Skies). all of the characters are very static and have no progression including our main heroine. And not to mention most of the camera work (shot entirely through the cameras on the phones and computers) was a lot like Cloverfield what with all the running and screaming and the viewer can't really see anything unless she/he wants to end up with a migraine. I wish I hadn't wasted the seventy six minutes watching it, and my advice is that you go watch something interestingly thought provoking like The Tall Man.
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chaos-rampant1 April 2014Here's one of those things that sound stupid if you just describe it, a horror film in the found footage mode entirely assembled via web and phone cams and mostly taking place on a laptop. No it isn't scary, the acting is below par, there's no cinematic craft, the horror plot and climax are atrociously bad, in the end it's no more than a gimmick, but for a while you can see them probing something interesting.
Part of the reason why I think it's so darn clever is in how it threads the practical limitations of what they could do on a tiny budget, around narrative limitations of how much story they could deliver within the former, around broader meta- limitations of how much is possible for a viewer to know as true, going from meagre means to the broad, perplexing questions.
Inspiration after all is nourished and energized by limits, self-imposed or from necessity like a painter has to puzzle about how he can enliven and give depth to a twodimensional surface. It's easy to think of so many things to do with a budget in the millions, which is why unconstrained imagination fizzles out, but how much can you do with just a camera?
Here it's about a viewer in the midst of images, a girl doing a behavioral study over online chat services, who like us is looking to surmise possible pattern and truth; the constraint is that we can only watch.
A lot of the time we stare into a computer environment. Jarring to see in a film but still the groundwork through which we know so many other things these days. We see through a webcam at the girl in her apartment so we acquire a sense of real time. But then things are shifted around. Videos that we were parsing as taking place now are suddenly paused. We connect to random chatters, but have no way of knowing how much is real even within the small confines of the screen. Some of them are pulling pranks, there's a startling Russian roulette scene that ends with bloodshed and everyone laughing.
Among all this is footage of a possible murder.
So this could have been great, about our inability to be grounded in a horizon of shifting images and context; a Blowup for the tumblr age. We could swim far deeper into the videos, form more ambiguous connections, play and replay edges and details, tune in and out of a far stranger parade of the visual strangeness that is taking place out there, some of it feigned, some bizarre or exciting, even stupidity or crass sex would have its place, some strangely poetic in spite of all else.
So they constrained themselves in a powerful way, but halfway through they axe all that and fall back to the convenient limits of tradition: Halloween, Scream 2, Saw and Hostel. It's a throwaway thing by the end which is a shame. -
atinder15 August 2015The Den
Not really sure what to make of it, I thought it was a really good idea
Some of the videos were really funny and a bit of over the top
I liked first video thought it was funny.
I liked how the movie flowed really well
There were some decent tense moments in this movie and there were some scenes that will make you Jump here and there
Some decent acting in this movie,
One thing I didn't get was the last scenes , I must of mass something cause I dint understand -
Poptart_Psycho3 November 2015In a genre where found footage is becoming a trend movies tend to be a lot similar but The Den explores a different aspect, I wouldn't say its amazing or produces anything different but the concept is here.
The Den is a social sit where you can web cam anyone, anywhere at anytime. Elizebeth has just been given a grant for a study to see how many strangers she can talk to and gather social patterns. Of course its not swimmingly, a non webcam chatter keeps popping up until it pops up and Liz witnesses a murder. Whilst trying to convince the police its not a hoax and through her own investigations her own loved ones are kidnapped.
The ending wasn't to bad either it gave the movie a Hostel style plot line, not in gore but the storyline its self.
Regardless if you like found footage horrors or not this is watchable, predictable at times and some of the webcamming scenes are amusing. -
kosmasp16 October 2014They could've named it that. Although there is a reason they chose that title of course. And while you might argue that some things are pretty stupid (recording wise, which is almost always the case with found footage), they try to explain that ... somehow. But whatever the case, the movie starts off slow and builds from there. So we get a lot of exposition, why our main character is so obsessed with online experiences and her paper on it.
The inciting incident is kinda ridiculous in the end (when everything is said and done sort of), but if you bare with it and close your eyes (not literally) on other plot holes too, you might be able to somewhat enjoy this too. It's not really good, but there have been worse -
quincytheodore12 June 2015The Den takes a lot of modern references such as social media quirks and web cam gimmicks to produce a unique kind of found footage film. It's similar to series of creepy pastas on internet, and even for those who are barely familiar with the technology, the film should be relatable. Unfortunately, the conclusion isn't as strong as the set-up and some of the plots developments are too far fetch.
Elizabeth (Melanie Papalia) is a student who investigates the behavior of web cam users in a website called The Den. It's a random streaming chat site, and just like the actual thing it has a lot of dubious people. Elizabeth begins to see a lot of strange things, including potential snuff video. It escalates very closely into her real life. The premise holds a good advantage since viewers will be familiar with this set-up.
Acting is pretty good for the lead, as Melanie Papalia plays the role of modern young woman who relies on this tech. For most part she seems identifiable, and the film is at its strongest at first act. Cleverly using bits of well-known jokes or internet sensation, it grabs attention very quickly. The horror aspect is handled very well as it's based on viral spooky stories or clips which already proved effective to attract attention.
Problem starts to show at latter half as the threat is looking very omnipotent. It's almost ludicrous how it can get to Elizabeth with near supernatural tech wizardly and seemingly unworldly power. The mainstay of found footage flaws reveal themselves later on as the visual gets muddled and slow, the vexing frame rate drop is real. It also doesn't make sense why there are conveniently placed cameras, especially in first person view.
The Den resembles internet sensation it's based on, interesting at first but stumble with glitches afterward. The material is spread too thinly and the last act falters, considering the film is fairly short it could've wrapped up nicer. If not for anything, The Den has a few good internet viral scares and they are better than most found footage has to offer. -
Ringhio826 March 2014First i want to mention that this movie has 3 reviews so far, and the 2 of them, are probably written by someone from the staff of the movie, cause both are so obvious and fake written. Especially the one with the "Warning" title. Not even a 5 year old kid would write that kind of review. As for the movie, i have to say it was boring watching it for barely 74 minutes through a web cam, smart phone cameras, mobiles and some other similar contrivances. Well yeah, it has to do with found footage stuff, but still, put a new idea on it than the usual "watching through a mobile to make it more real and scary." The story could and should have been better, but it has some empty spaces and questions while it unravels which ruins the whole attempt making this movie good or giving you something somewhat different idea or plot. The good thing, The Den has, according to me, is showing and exposing world's addiction and stupidity over the internet and social networks and chatting. Without people knowing who they're talking to, or who that person is, they expose their selves and revealing things, personal things, for no reason, just because "that's the way it is" with technology. Posting where they're about to go, where they live, what they like, uploading photos and videos of their lives and from close friends lives, can be hazardous and worse, cause they can't know what intentions have all these unknown chatters. And some of them, or many of them, might be hackers and good ones, from those who might want to mess seriously with their lives. Also it has an obvious similarity with the Hostel movie, right at the end.
Overall, it's an uninterested movie, and i don't recommend it. Only to curious ones.
3 out of 10 -
daniel-mannouch19 June 2019Appearing from its UK DVD packaging as an Unfriended rip-off, imagine my surprise when I found out that this film originally titled as The Den was released, in Russia, months before Unfriended hit cinemas. And that it also turned out to be a much superior film than Unfriended.
Unfriended was done in real time and had some supernatural nonsense in it. The whole thing was meandering, far fetched and sluggish. Hacked is not without its fair share of plot holes, and tiresome jump scares, but it has a brisk pace, it sustains tension, and grafts tried and tested paranoia thriller tropes onto its unique chatroom concept which though dilutes some of the verisimilitude, does actually guarantee a story being told which is not universal amongst found footage films. In the end, I was surprised and impressed by Hacked and found it to be an engrossing and inventive thriller.
At least i thought that until the end where it gets really stupid for the sake of dog whistling to horror fans. It feels cheap and forced, and becomes more of a trashy found footage film than the taut paranoia thriller it was convincingly being till the third act. True, throughout there are implausibilities, but the tonal shift in the third act was nothing short of jarring and ruined the film's impact a great deal. Because of this, i recommend Hacked to horror fans looking for something unique, but does not drastically reinvent the wheel. -
mcnofx23 August 2019Got boring less than half way through. acting was decent. lots of unrealistic scenarios bothered me though. unresolved answers left at the end as well.
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bear_adam9 August 2014OMG those are my first words about this movie. I will first say I'm a Horror movie buff and I have seen more horror films then I can count and it is my favorite genre of films so with that said I will begin. I had first seen a trailer and heard about this movie a few months prior to it's release and I couldn't wait to watch it just based on the premise. I love found footage movies.
I will say that I didn't know any of the actors nor was I worried bc that doesn't always make a great horror film as this shows. The actors did a terrific job especially the main girl Elizabeth. I will say that for a short film it was Uber intense and very much kept you on the edge of your seat. The violence was gritty and in your face and the questions it raises are very valid especially from a technology standpoint. I for one don't scare easy at all and the jump scares were the best I have seen in a while and even knowing they were coming and it still got me was Impressive.
I would recommend this movie to any and all that love horror and appreciate what this film does in the time span it is allotted. I would also note that the movie does raise one or two questions but nothing that would kill the movie buzz once the credits start rolling. I for one hope this director keeps up with his career bc as I said I love this movie and it is def going in the books for direction as well as great scares and overall atmosphere. -
MattyGibbs21 February 2017Hacked or The Den ( what is it with these stupid alternative titles? ) is another film based around the dangers of social media.
It starts very similar to Unfriended and becomes more SAW like as it progresses. The overwhelming impression I got from the film was just how banal and pointless most of social media is. Just sad people desperate for a bit of attention.
Although not groundbreaking it is fairly creepy and at times disturbing and keep my attention throughout. It didn't quite go where i thought it would and unlike many horrors I thought the ending was very good.
This is a very good effort for a low budget film and very effective in what it is trying to convey. Worth watching. -
EnjoyablePresence28 December 2014There has been a recent string of "mostly or all" web-cam shot horror films. Meghan is Missing is a typical example: have a character start off in chat rooms that are silly, have them meet someone that seems sinister, have them debate whether or not this is a joke as the film turns darker and darker.
The Den follows the typical pattern; if you're a fan of those films, this one is fairly well made. Unfortunately it offers nothing new. If you're familiar with the genre, once you see something dark happening on that web-cam, you know what the whole film is going to be like and how it is going to end.
The film is not realistic in any fashion as the killer(s) would have to be omniscient to know where everyone would be, when everyone would be alone, how people would be walking in to rooms and where they would be facing, etc. Not to mention the fact that the police offer no help when bodies pile up and our hero insists "no matter how many of my friends get kidnapped, I will not stop constantly broadcasting my whereabouts all over the web." It wasn't for me but I'm sure there are fans of web-cam scare films that will enjoy it.