Nerve

Internet have changed our lives completely. We don´t have to do everything as we used to do, we can shop online, check our bank account, order food, be social with the whole world through Facebook or Twitter. Back in the 90´s, when internet came, i remember that we only had very few options. We could read news on web pages, check out upcoming films, design, restaurants recommendations, and some other stuff. As the millennium entered, we were seeing how internet kept growing, and developing our life styles in a complete different way. These days you can pretty much do everything online. And it is fascinating how much internet control us, no matter where we are in this world, we can go online and tell anything we want. But is everything good about the social networks ? Of course there will be always be problems. Especially when people fake their identities, or steal other peoples money. Since i spoke about the 90´s earlier, there was actually a film that was ahead of its time called The Net. A great thriller, where Sandra Bullock get her identity stolen through internet. This film came out in 1995, at a time when internet was on the verge of becoming very popular, so the film makers knew exactly how to use the topic into this film. Even if the film may be over 20 years old, it still shows that this could still happen today. Sandra Bullock did a great performance, and i suggest you rent this film, especially for nostalgic reasons. Legendary director Michael Mann, tried to do an action thriller, about computers and internet, in a film called Blackhat. Chris Hemsworth was not very good, and the film felt too simple to care about. Around early spring time, as i was sitting in a cinema, trailers started to roll. And one of the film trailers that was shown, was a film called Nerve. I have never heard about this film before, not even online. Usually this is a bad sign, as if the film company does not feel confident in a film to promote it. My first reaction to the trailer was, this could be something to check out. Especially because of the lead role, Emma Roberts. A actor most of you probably remember from Scream 4 and We´re The Millers. Since i never went to see Nerve in a cinema, i too the chance to see it on blu ray instead. Is Nerve a high qualilty thriller, or is the concept too mainstream to care about ?

High school senior Venus " Vee " Delmoncio receives an email from California Institute of the arts, reminding her to accept or reject admission. This is something Vee have not told her mother Nancy ( Juliette Lewis ) about, while Nancy hopes her daughter have chosen a college close to home. Ever since Vee´s little brother died, the relationship between Vee and Nancy is very sensitive. Vee finds comfort with one of her closest friends, Tommy ( Miles Heizer ). Vee notice that her friend Sydney ( Emelie Meade ) is very popular in the game called Verve. The idea is to let the game control your choices. If you follow the rules, and complete a mission, you will be paid in cash. Since Vee is curious about the game, she accepts to join in. She also get to know another Nerve player called Sam ( Dave Franco ), as they tag along to win as many challenges as possible, But is there a prize to pay, for all the choices they make ?

We have seen films before, where they use ideas from the internet. So in that sense i can´t say that Nerve is very original. However, since this is supposed to be a game, of a very different kind, things become a bit more fun. Once the challenges are being accepted, we are going to different locations across the city. Some challenges are fun, while some feel less interesting. But where Nerve manage to pick up, is the idea of your life being controlled through a game. If you don´t follow the rules, it all ends. You could say that Nerve is a modern teen thriller, made for especially a young generation. But i think you can watch this film, no matter what age you have, just to get a glimpse of how we can be fooled by technology. Just think how obsessed we could become, knowing that you can make a lot of money, if you are prepared to do whatever this game tells you to do ? Directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, have worked together on directing Paranormal Activity 3 and 4, and Nerve is another collaboration. I will say this, if you compare their previous film Paranormal Activity 4, this is definitely an improvement. They have focused more, on trying to do something outside of the horror genre, and that is a good idea. Even if Nerve hold some good ideas, there is something we could have skipped in here. The romantic moments feels too predictable, and boring. If Nerve could have stayed with some more intensive moments, we might actually had something more to be happy about. Lead actor Emma Roberts, ( who did a great performance in the funny comedy The Winning Season ), is the strength of the film Nerve. I would not say this is one of her stronger performances, but she fits her character well. Plus she is an experienced actor, so you can tell she knows how to develope a character. Miles Heizer also does a great performance, as the soft guy Tommy, who tries to make Vee understand her choices.  Once the film switch from a playful view, to become more serious, this is where Nerve works best. The dramatic parts simply don´t function as they should have. Overall, a surprise for me personally. Nerve is not as bad as you might expect it to be. I was going to play Xbox One live tonight, i think i might stick to reading the Jehovas Witnesses latest paper instead. No cyber demons can reach me there, or could they ?

Rating: DDD