CHATROOM

Year: 2010
UK: Revolver Entertainment
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Imogen Poots, Matthew Beard, Hannah Murray, Daniel Kaluuya, Megan Dodds, Michelle Fairley, Nicholas Gleaves, Jacob Anderson, Tuppence Middleton, Ophelia Lovibond, Richard Madden
Director: Hideo Nakata
Country: UK
UK: 97 mins
UK Certificate: 15 contains suicide theme and strong sex references
UK Release Date: 22 December 2010 (Limited Release)

Reviews:

Synopsis

When strangers Jim (Matthew Beard), Eva (Imogen Poots), Emily (Hannah Murray) and Mo (Daniel Kaluuva) meet William (Aaron Johnston) online in his new 'Chelsea Teens!' chatroom, they're completely seduced by his fast-talking, charismatic character. These teens want to escape their real worlds, and in a complicated world where teenagers feel disconnected and powerless, being online with William is like being alive.

However, a dangerous loner, a dysfunctional teenager channelling all his energies into cyberspace, William is king online, but offline he chooses to be set apart from his family; isolating himself. Jim too is isolated, so similar yet so different to William, and he has no idea how dangerous his new friendship with William will be.

What begins as seemingly friendly advice to help Jim, becomes twisted. William has a serious agenda; he's going to play with Jim, taking control of his destiny as a way to exorcise his own demons. Without them realising, and in different ways, William recruits Eva, Mo and Emily in his game. Distracted by her attraction to William, Eva thinks they're just playing with Jim. Beguiled by his charm, Mo and Emily are lured into believing they're helping Jim. William is determined to see just how far he can make them go. It doesn't take long however, for William to show his cruel hand.

Set in both online and offline worlds, this smart psychological thriller has a poignant relevancy, exposing the chilling reality of what happens when the lines between reality and cyberspace become blurred.