Fantasia Review: ‘#Blue_Whale’ Is a Thrilling Chase With a Predictable Ending
The social media age has brought humans from every reach of the planet together. Society has just begun to see the impacts of the communication of that many humans in one collective space. #Blue_Whale, the feature debut from writer/director Anna Zaytseva, explores some of the not-so-great interactions of the internet.
The film is based on actual cyber-crimes that plagued cities all across Eastern Europe, may have been responsible for over 130 deaths, and was the inspiration for the Japanese Momo hoax. #Blue_Whale was co-produced by Timur Bekmambetov and shot in the Screenlife storytelling format that he pioneered (as seen in Profile, Searching the Unfriended series). The result is a film told from the view of a rebellious teen’s computer activity.
The film follows Dana (Anna Potebnya) who lives in a provincial Russian town that is ravaged by a wave of inexplicable teen suicides, one of which was her seemingly perfect younger sister. Her grief, desperation and the police’s complete lack of care, lead her to begin searching for her own answers. Dana begins exploring her sister’s online history, discovers that her sister was playing a sinister social-media game.
A game that encourages it’s players to take on an ever escalating series of self-harm challenges, 50 tasks in 50 days. Dana becomes determined to uncover the real people behind the computer messages. After signing up for the game, she realizes how intense the challenges are, designed to unravel your mind, body and alienate you from those close to you. But she discovers that once you enter the game, it’s impossible to get out alive and that everyone she loves is in danger.
#Blue_Whale thrusts its audience into Dana’s spiraling paranoia, hopelessness, grief and teenage vulnerability. Potebnya’s performance is perfectly crafted with quick wit and an undeniable recklessness of a teen with nothing to lose. She is fully believable as someone who has mastered researching people, places, and photos online, while at the same time being drawn in by the same people she’s hunting.
What ultimately makes #Blue_Whale successful is that it explores the ways teens can be manipulated online. It also examines the ways they can manipulate themselves, and their emotions. After all, most adults have learned that life moves on after a mistake or failure. But teens often have tunnel vision when it comes to school, friends and romances, which is what ultimately happens to Dana.
The quickness and brutality of the deaths, along with fast moving camera chases, make the film feel more horror-esque than it story. However, the overall warning and message of the film is what will stay with you. The twists, turns and suspense all work wonderfully well to bring together a well thought out puzzle, even if you figure it out before the end. #Blue_Whale succeeds in spelling out the cautionary tale of the mind games and ambiguity that the social media age has exposed.
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The intimate film style allows for viewers to be completely immersed into the story while watching all of Dana’s online interactions. With the actors and story quickly pulling viewers through its twist, we couldn’t help but wish for a bigger reveal at the end. Even with its predicable ending, the story draws you in and will have you thinking about those around you might be drawn into an online nightmare. 3/5
You can check out the trailer for the Russian film #Blue_Whale, part of Fantasia’s 25th International Film Festival below. As always be sure to follow ScaryNerd for more of all things horror, sci-fi and more.
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