Nerve

What it's about:

Industrious high school senior, Vee Delmonico (Emma Roberts), has had it with living life on the sidelines. When pressured by friends to join the popular online game Nerve, Vee decides to sign up for just one dare in what seems like harmless fun. But as she finds herself caught up in the thrill of the adrenaline-fueled competition partnered with a mysterious stranger (Dave Franco), the game begins to take a sinister turn with increasingly dangerous acts, leading her into a high stakes finale that will determine her entire future. 

What we thought:

The line between real life and the virtual world is becoming increasingly blurry. People are forgoing interpersonal communication to solely communicate with each other online. 

There have been stories in the news where people were actually too busy taking pictures or tweeting during life and death incidents without offering a hand. People have become so busy in the virtual world and losing the essence of their humanity as smartphones become extra limbs. People are becoming voyeurs hiding behind online personas. 

While the internet and virtual reality games like Pokemon Go can seem like harmless fun in the beginning it can get quite dark and sinister especially when all your data is exposed online albeit innocently.

Excuse the heavy handed intro for what on the surface seems to be a fun, teenage thriller but Nerve touches on this nerve (sorry, not sorry).

The film is based on the young adult novel by Jeanne Ryan and directed by the Catfish guys, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman.

Straight-laced, shy Vee (Emma Roberts) is goaded by her extrovert best friend Sydney (Emily Meade) to live a little. She decides to become a player in the virtual reality game Nerve loosely based on that sleepover party game Truth or Dare, but mostly dare. 

Watchers dare players to perform tasks for a monetary reward. Dares are set by tapping into their deepest fears which they access through their social media profiles. The more dares you complete the more money you make and your ranking in the game improves.

Vee gets paired up with fellow player Ian (Dave Franco). 

Things start out fun but escalate to death defying stunts like riding a motorbike blindfolded. What starts out as fun and games turns deadly.

The film is fast paced, adrenaline fuelled and nerve wracking. Set in New York, the film is shot is such a way that it actually looks like a game.

Roberts and Franco make a great team and succeed in making the characters relatable and authentic.

This flick warning on the dangers of the worldwide web and social media comes at the right time and should be a cautionary tale.

While it is aimed at teens it is a bit of a wake up call for anyone who is active online.