It's very easy to interact with people you don't know on the internet; and it's very easy to be very mean to people you don't know. But might it also not be easy to take revenge on them? This is the central idea of Dutch comedy-thriller 'The Columnist', which keeps a mostly straight face even as its plot turns farcical. The central character is well-constructed, and there is a serious point about the toxic nature of social media. 'The Columnist' never quite reaches the peak of 'Black Mirror', but it's nicely paced and might just make you think twice about the difference between how you behave online and in real life.
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paul2001sw-15 December 2021
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SnoopyStyle5 July 2021Columnist and author Femke Boot (Katja Herbers) rails against the online discourse which includes countless disturbing attacks against her and her daughter Anna. The police dismisses her. She's struggling to write her next book. She spots nasty racist misogynist tweets apparently coming from her noisy neighbor. She goes on a murderous revenge rampage.
This is fine. I am most intrigued with Katja acting in her native tongue. She sounds like I expected. A more compelling story would have somebody else catfishing as the noisy neighbor. She kills an innocent and gets blackmailed for it. That's a good twist. Some of these people must be using burner accounts. It's trolling 101. It's too easy to track down these people and I don't believe that Femke can kill these men with her hands. I do like the freedom of speech argument. This is fine. -
thesar-218 September 2021Haters are gonna die.
They say, don't read the comments, and sadly, that's true. For every one positive comment, there has to be 10 negative ones written by some poor hack living in its parents' basement. I'm usually good at mocking them, but they do feed off that. I wouldn't want to meet them. Femke Boot would.
Meet The Columnist. Someone hated for her opinions online. Fortunately for her, unlucky for them, they all live within driving distance. And when the title character confronts her 1st hater in person...she gets a taste of it.
I rather liked this affair. It's not perfect and the lead performers (Mom, Boyfriend & Daughter) aren't very convincing, but I was intrigued enough to see where this led.
Worth a watch for anyone who gets hateful comments, but has no other outlet to digest them. HINT: either delete the comments, or laugh at that person...or bot.
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Final Thoughts: This was in Dutch, but I would LOVE to see an American, independent remake of this. No studio interference and someone in the lead who can play that Serial Mom dual role perfectly. I suggest Laura Linney. I totally can see her losing it on screen while improving as she's becoming the beast she is. -
youngcollind23 September 2022It treads on similar thematic territory to Serial Mom without any of John Waters' quirky flair. Mostly it keeps a pretty straight face and plays the outrageous situation for satirical dry humour. It's low budget, though that's only evident from the bare bones delivery, not because it fails at what it attempts, and the performances are strong without being over the top.
Of course, it's not the 90s and this regular mom hasn't snapped for no good reason, it's because the internet. Taking shots at the pitfalls of social media and cyber bullying in this day and age is sort of low hanging fruit, but I can't say I've seen any other horror movie tackle the topic to justify a bloodbath, so I'll give it to them. It wraps this around some interesting insight on the double edged sword that is free speech, at least trying to give purpose to a killing spree. -
igl-5556027 June 2021Interesting take on cyber bullying. It really has a deeper meaning about women and their place in society whether they are at places of power or under the leadership of another woman.
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derek-duerden20 December 2021With a very engaging central performance, the implausibilities of the plot are nicely skated-over as she overreacts to vicious trolling, with an escalating body count and (inevitably) collateral damage on some who clearly didn't "deserve what they got".
The core plot is fairly bluntly set against the daughter's school-based campaign for free speech, so this doesn't win too many marks for subtlety - but the daughter and other supporting players are also well-drawn such that I found myself going along quite willingly, even to the not-really-resolved ending.
Good fun if you're in the right mood. -
LaverneandShirleysucks13 July 2022Crazy man hating columnist gets so butt hurt by mean comments towards her on social media that she hunts the commenters down, murders them and clips off their fingers as sick souvenirs.
I call her man hating because she doesn't go after any females who talk trash about her...only the men, and this mousy woman is so unlikable that it can't be only men hating on her.
It would've been better if the protagonist was someone we could like and root for, but she was so repulsive that I just couldn't. And incredibly, none of these men ever try to fight back to this tiny little mouse when she breaks into their homes to off them. They just allow themselves to be killed without any defense lol. Please. It's so unrealistic! I'll be generous and give it 4 stars for the kills. -
ryan_sy20 February 2023When I saw Katja Herbers (from TV Show Evil) was the lead actress, I was immediately interested. She plays the lead role perfectly, showing very little emotion and is seemingly harmless, until she reaches her breaking point with reckless abandon.
The movie underscores how anonymous trolls on social media are negative to today's society and emotion well-being. The plot and pace kept me entertained, but there was nothing groundbreaking in the film. I really liked the deadpan interactions between the main character and the people in her life, and how quickly she can turn from harmless to harrowing making an internet troll think twice before posting!
Worth a watch- especially if you've been trolled or harassed online.
{5/10} -
warpedspeed10 January 2020Fancy a bit of mindless cyber-bullying/trolling? I wouldn't point that finger too fast, you might just pick the wrong 'victim'. Such as Femke Boot, columnist and would-be novelist with a bout of writer's block and an attack of (cyber) trolls vicious enough to make anyone head for the nearest Wi-Fi-free coldspot before you can say firefox adblocker. Femke, ( perfectly played by Katja Herbers), is not anyone, however, and the ensuing blackly comic madness, while never totally over the top, is always slightly skewed from reality, Stepford Wives-ish, so that the film could -almost- be called whimsical. Plenty of fun.
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Movi3DO8 October 2021Time to purge the online trolls.
Have you ever seen trolls on Twitter harassing other people? Do you feel fed up with all these comments? Well, our columnist felt that and now she wanted to get physical with these trolls.
The scene where she started to do her thing got me by surprise. I read the synopsis but for some reason I did not expect that she would do that. After this, I got excited to see how crazy this movie would go, but I was wrong. For only an hour and 24 minutes, this movie was pretty boring and slow. I believe that the violence and gore would have make the message about online harassment more impactful. They got what they deserve right? There was not enough violence in here to make me enjoy the movie.
Then, the theme itself was conflicting. On one side it's about freedom of speech through the daughter character, but on the other side it's about limiting this freedom of speech through the main character. I became confused on what this movie actually want to achieve.
Overall, it was just another shallow work from a leftist director. 4.5/10. -
royoshikawa6 November 2021My first review has disappeared for some reason. Was my previous review too mean? Is the people here like Femke? Lmao
This movie is about a 40 years old lonely female journalist that starts to kill people that disagreed with or were mean to her on internet. The acting is somewhat okay, but everything else is bland and not believable. -
dmayn9349315 October 2021The comments displayed in the flick with insults & threats on Facebook and Twitter are against their standards and the commenter would have been suspended. It would be Facebook jail for those a-Os. Murder is never the answer. The shot gun was a double barrel with two shotgun shells. She couldn't shoot a third time without reloading. That's why I own a Pump action shotgun.
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WeAllPodDownHereOfficial18 February 2022Seriously, who hasn't wanted to hunt down some internet trolls. I'm not saying you should actually do it, but I'm sure the fantasy of at least scaring them has crossed all our minds at least once. The Columnist/De Kuthoer is one of those movies where you quickly end up cheering for the killer because these people aren't just trolls that poke some fun; no they are saying they know where she lives and they are threatening her and being extra awful. We quickly see how the addiction to social media does so much harm, but also how Femke seems to now be addicted to killing. The character development in this is wonderful. We see so many sides of Femke, the harm this addiction does to her, her boyfriend and her daughter; who is inspired by her mom and trying to speak out against issues regarding freedom of speech. There's a lot of irony in this with Femke silencing people for their words while also saying she supports free speech. Femke mostly writes a pretty neutral column, but she does end up getting a lot of hate because she is anti-Zwarte Piet/Black Pete. She's also under stress of deadlines from her publisher for a book she's writing. It seems the killing helps her with her writing though, so I guess that's good for her and sucks for the trolls?
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OJT16 October 2020The Columnist (De kuthoer) is well made gore-thriller about a female newspaper columnist which gets a lot of abuse online, and decides she won't take it. She starts confronting the abusers, which also are among those close to her life. The film is well played, especially by the main role, which really is 100% believable. Production value is good, and we all know how it is to surf the net, reading all the nastiness. Should we all prevail, or do something about it? This movie told in a somewhat hitchcockian style is a ripe thriller and a joyful watch - if you like films on the more macabre and dark funny side. The film is far from laugh out loud funny, but you tend to enjoy the cozy nasty bits, due to only the way it is made.
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TonyB270719 December 2021Loved this movie 👍
Helps that Katja Herbers is awesome and sounds even sexier speaking Dutch than she does in English but that's not the only reason to watch this movie.
We all live in a world of 24/7 Social Media with people hiding behind hateful comments and it is fascinating to see her character reach the end of her tether and then just step past. -
jazziekoster26 February 2021Normally I'm not a fan of Dutch films myself, but this piece of art, story wise, is just perfection! The acting of Katja Herbers (Femke Boot) in this film is very good.
I really like how they imagine the term, "Internet helden" in dutch, "Internet Heroes" in English, would be. How the haters/ victims are holding back when Femke is right in front of them is really how I think it would go if this really happened.
The irony of Femke her daughter battling for freedom of speech while Femke herself is making victims because of their opinion.
I really suggest you watching this piece of art! Props to Ivo van Aart (Director) -
strength01799 July 2021She did not hold a sex slave in the basement (and many other thing). But she did become a terrible person just like those trash-critic saying on Internet.
In the end, this movie is not about some regular and easy issue. It's about how fail we alway are as being a human. -
victordelavieter12 September 2020Male a**holes plague writer an columninst Femke. Cybertrolling, insulting, dominating, bullying, hating. Then Femke takes drastic measures. Actress Katja Herbers is great in this movie. With one look she shows us she is taking fateful decisions, maintaining a state of irony all the time. Seemingly innicent scenes get an ominous turn as she confronts her agressors with her being innocent and revengeful at the same time. Great scene settings, and balanced direction. Director Ivo doesn't need nervous camera movements or nervous cutting, actionmovie style, to create Hitchcockian tension. Will the police find out? Check out the scene with the nude guy in the bath. You are a nice guy"? O.k." Splash!!! No country for old men meets First wives club...
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krikkedominick133 August 2022I have a hard time believing in Dutch quality, this movie has proven that the Netherlands has potential. What do you do with hate comments?
Well miss Boat (Boot) switched her sane mind for it.. -
morrison-dylan-fan11 November 2020When looking at the line-up for FrightFest earlier this year, this was one of the main titles I was most annoyed about having missed after the high praise it got from the online audience. Mentioning on a FrightFest message board that I had signed up to the Cine-Exscess event,a fellow poster told me about the Leeds International Film Festival,leading to me finally reading my favourite columnist.
View on the film:
Going Below the Line and ploughing deep into the Comments section, director Ivo van Aart enters feature films after working on shorts/TV shows, with a deliriously macabre jet-black comedic atmosphere, that gives the revenge attacks a ripe sharpness.
Typing up Femke being a big-name columnist, Aart closely works with cinematographer Katja Herbers in printing a pristine appearance for Femke's workplace, laying a canvas out of slick dissolves over Femke's publications and swift dolly shots round the façade of her perfect looking family home.
Unable to shake the curiosity of viewing the comments, Aart and Herbers spray oil and blood over the canvas of Femke's life, stylishly popping up comments everywhere she walks,and the glow of computer screens appearing in her close-up eyes.
Going for the right to reply, Aart sands down the brutality of the revenge attacks with a gleeful dry wit, via each troll being given a different appearance, (angry slob, want-to-fit-in whinger) who are slain with a thin smile casualness by Femke, who chops a bloody memento from all her former haters.
Wisely avoiding the easy option of Femke being a Right-Wing hack who tries to be offend people,Daan Windhorst reunites with Aart from their TV work,for a screenplay which finds veins of excellent dead-pan humour from Femke being a inoffensive Liberal wet, whose writings on subjects such as the joys of a soft boil egg, brings all the trolls out from under their rock.
While keeping the pen on the comedic,Windhorst makes a sharp commentary on the horrific psychological problems from online abuse, with terror hitting Femke when a troll claims they know where she lives. Confronting the trolls, Windhorst displays the frivolous manner these keyboard warriors use words, who cry blue murder when Femke cuts their column.
Walking into the open-ending with blood dripping down her white dress, Katja Herbers gives a mesmerising turn as Femke, whose torment from the online bullying leaves wear and tear across her face, which Herbers wipes with a comedic avenging enthusiasm to bring new meaning to being a journalistic hack. -
neil-douglas201010 January 2023Interesting little chiller thriller from the Dutch. Katja Herbers plays Femke Boot, a famous journalist with lots of enemies. One of these at the start seems to be rival Steven Dood (Bram van der Kelen), but he says it's all a game. Femke gets more annoyed by the insults and death threats on social media so she starts going after the trolls with increasingly bloody scenes. The police have no idea who the culprit is but Femke's daughter thinks it is Dood. But although he looks creepy he's a red herring. Herbers is excellent as Boot, a nice person driven to murder by reading to many comments on social media, whether she got away with is unknown at the end of the movie.