Upon first viewing this movie, I was entertained/incapacitated to the point where revisiting it became necessary in order to write a review. For anyone interested in technological horrors – this feature is incredibly engrossing.

Directed by Alexis Wajsbrot Damien Macé.

The opening scene leads one to wonder about the exact nature of what you’re about to watch and this speaks to some degree of realism being imbued into Don’t Hang Up by its creators.

Having known ‘people’ that made calls baring likeness to the ones made by the leading characters, you could question whether this is categorically is a horror or revenge-action feature; but that’s just conjecture.
Produced by Laurie Cook, Jason Newmark, Romain Philippe, Olivier Philippe, Farah Abushwesha, Alexis Wajsbrot & Damien Macé.

The average audience member is likely to reason that it falls into the latter category – although the actions conducted by the protagonists are more jarring to your average audience than the black hat vigilante justice that later befalls them.

The way in which the pranksters succeed in social engineering their victims is well constructed (and believable;) speaking to just how contrived and calculated their every day interactions are.

Given that their motive is to garner exposure at the expense of unsuspecting civilians, it certainly drives home the idea that you shouldn’t have your contact details available in local registries (let alone social media.)

Sadism constituting entertainment is nothing new – and in some ways the film is a paradox when musing upon a notion. It appears sadism under the guise of righteousness is more enjoyable for the average person.

Although a hyper realistic mantra is being employed in evaluating this film, the digital universe it works to illustrate is particularly outdated. Considering just how binding the majority of wide-spread creative mediums are these days; this could be the point made intentionally.

One could first regard the shining finesse of the cinematography and setting as over saturated and conventional; but it works. Ironically, such factors speak to just how artificial the lives of the main characters featured are – and the potentiality of losing the privilege bestowed upon them prior to becoming enthralled in garnering juvenile infamy.

The way in which the main characters’ personal lives are regarded so seriously over social media – even when it comes to intimate, interpersonal associations and the alternation of relationship statuses is quite comical. It immediately emits a reek of hypocrisy from the sort of individuals who devalue the lives of every over being – so long as they serve no purpose to their immediate lives.

In many ways Don’t Hang Up illustrates a genuine lack of empathy – in terms of regarding all beings as equal. Many are conditioned to feel this way as a result of trauma, although the root cause of what drives the main characters into acting so irresponsibly is something subtly presented to you. Parental neglect is the likely answer, given that such characters aren’t featured for a good portion of the movie.

However, it could also be ascertained that their elders’ ignorance to the nature of the internet and just how negative an impact their offspring are having on society at large is the reason behind their children’s messed up priorities. This is made clear later into the film; given one character is intent upon joining the military against his father’s wishes.

The power dynamic embraced by the two leads is swiftly turned on its head by an affronted, retaliatory caller. One could regard him as being superior to them both morally and methodically. This is disputable of course, as an ear for a call will make everyone deaf. This most likely acts as a warning to viewers who think their online infractions are immune from the karmic cycle of the universe.

Fear quickly eliminates the arrogance of Sam and Brady, who are immediately scared to answer their door after acknowledging their tormentor knows their location and online trail. Such immediate regret (not remorse) leads one to believe that if their actions had been compromised by a much more powerful entity earlier; a whole lot of catastrophes would have been preventable.

That’s the problem here, though. The individual opposing them is pursuing deathly retribution rather than just putting an end to their egotistical crusade. The relationship between Peyton and how they go about things prior to their being actual repercussions to their calls speaks to degree of either sadism or ignorance on her behalf.

The dynamic intensity/longevity of how the caller goes about terrorizing the leads likely correlates with the external effects their pranks had upon victims publicly berated online and just how impactful actions of such permanence are.

How the duo go about regarding the person calling them as one individual rather than a collective is a convention that the film didn’t break; but the fact they fail to consider such a factor brought such a thought to mind.

Ignorance of the fact they’re under covert camera surveillance prior to the action really starting speaks to the leads’ ignorance in regards to the situation’s severity: however, this is something the movie should have made contextually abundant to the audience…

Sedlo