I was a little optimistic when I started this. It seemed to be reasonably well shot, technically good, and generally, the level of B-horror quality I like.
It starts off okay. The longer it goes, the worse it gets. To start with, there's an annoying undercurrent of "these social network sites are so annoying." I get that some people are uncomfortable with sharing certain things online. That's why you have the choice to do it or not. There's this bizarre attitude as if there were some requirement or pressure to share yourself completely. I find this line of thinking almost nonsensical.
Then, the party starts. And no one is likable. We're supposed to like the lead, but she's the one who has been complaining about social networking. There's a remarkable amount of drinking for a party with five people.
Things start to get weird - news reports come in of some stuff happening outside, there's a lockdown on campus, and so forth. This is okay.
The investigation phase is okay. They learn about the symptoms of whatever is going around. Characters start to hallucinate, and there are some fights and death. That's standard fare, and it's passable.
But then we reach the point where the movie decides to give an explanation.
Considerable spoiler.
It turns out that the social network has been using some subliminal messaging to get people to use the site more. An update that was rolled out that day had side effects that involved nosebleeds, violence, depression, and eventual death.
Then we get an explanation, posted by a doctor, explaining how this infection actually causes a tumor to grow (this is hilarious - he refers to it as a 'second brain') Eventually the tumor causes the skull to erupt.
And that's where the story goes off the rails. It takes some time to reach that point. I can't begin to explain what's wrong with that. Tumors take more than a day to grow. A tumor inside the skull will not cause the skull to rupture. There's plenty of other squishy tissue for it to displace before breaking bone.
The heroine saves herself at the end by using a power drill to break into her skull and cut out the infected bit. Awfully convenient. She seems a little dazed by doing this, but doesn't pass out or do anything except look a little loopy. Then she walks out on the street, where all of the infected are dead from the ruptured skulls. We hear a bunch of news reports that make it clear that these dead are not really dead. Then the people around her all get up, and close in on her. She poses with an axe, ready for action. The end.
Strangely, the end of it did remind me of the end of Resident Evil.
The plot is awfully similar to The Signal and Pulse.
It's a good lesson in how far to take a premise. How much explanation is the right amount.
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