by Peter Callaghan

Think Unfriended meets The Running Man in that “Players” of Nerve, a new social media-based game of truth or dare minus the truth, compete against one another to increase their wealth and “Watchers” (Facebook-type Friends who pay for the right to propose challenges and gain access to real-time video streams) in the hope of securing one of only two much-coveted places in the final winner-takes-all round. The golden rules of which like the ingredients of a witch’s spell number three: if a player fails in completing a task within the allotted timeframe or bails out of the game altogether, all earnings are automatically reduced to zero; dares must be shared live via a player’s mobile phone; and a secret punishment awaits those who report the game to the police. Great premise, well executed, with more than a whiff of Hollyoaks about it, which should appeal to those at the lower end of the 15 certificate age group but less so to those with each passing year.

In the blue-eyed and blonde hair corner is Vee (Emma Roberts), an aspiring artist with low self-confidence who reluctantly turns to Nerve after falling out with her BFFs freaky Sydney (Emily Meade) and geeky Tommy (Miles Heizer) and unsuccessfully trying to persuade her cash-strapped mother Nancy (Juliette Lewis) to rent out her dead brother’s room on (one of many product placements) Airbnb. In the red-bloodied and six-pack corner is Ian (Dave Franco), an enigmatic Player with a faint digital footprint who joins forces with Vee in both a romantic and strategic sense after she accepts a dare to kiss a stranger in a busy New York diner. He returns the favour by serenading her with a cheesy rendition of Anything You Want, Watchers flock to them in their droves and the dares like the rewards and the risks increase dramatically from try on a dress to drive at sixty miles an hour down a busy road – blindfolded!

At its heart, Nerve (based upon the debut novel of the same name by American author Jeanne Ryan) is a thriller. But underneath the cheap thrills and easy-on-the-eye spills lies a social commentary on the dangers of social media ranging from the desperate desire to be liked and the gap between what we share and who we are to the quest for “insta-fame” and the malicious nature of online comments fuelled by those who hide behind a wall of anonymity. The final message being a none-too-subtle reminder that as exciting and vital as Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Snapchat appear to be, we should make more of an effort to down tools and talk – otherwise we run the risk of alienating ourselves from those we love and our immediate environment.

Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (both of whom worked together on Paranormal Activity 3 and 4) have done a fine job of cranking up the tension and infusing the action with a Glee-like gloss. Emma Roberts and Dave Franco are ridiculously attractive and well-paired. And though Jessica Sharzer’s script is largely bereft of humour (a rare laugh-out-loud moment comes courtesy of a black patient’s response to nursing Nancy’s surprise at a number of unexpected credits to her bank account: “White people’s problems!”), there’s enough in terms of content and character to hold the attention of those aged 15 and over or those for whom Snapchat is a polite conversation about a popular game of cards.

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Peter Callaghan
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