Review of Chatroom (2010) by Loïc M — 30 Jun 2012

This could have been so much better. The visual approach to the hyper-real, saturated colours of the online chatrooms, with the subtle shifts in "physical" appearance and behaviour, is striking and imaginative, contrasting strongly with the washed-out, drab real-world.

But this style only goes so far. Not only is it not backed up by a decent script, acting performances, direction or editing, it massively outstays its welcome. Despite only lasting 97 minutes, it feels a lot longer. Having tried to introduce a range of characters with bite or depth to their backstory, everything fizzles away into predictable tropes. The final act is both tedious and uninspiring, the end is pretty tame.

Hard to think this is what has become of the director of the original, truly scary Ringu.