Selfie

Director - Geoff Harmer (Hellbent: Hellraiser Chronicle)
Starring - Stacy Hart (A Darker Shade of Red), Poppy Richardson, and Milly Richardson)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Social media is the most powerful resources we have available at our fingertips.  Social media has lead to social networking which is a phenomenal tool that many people can use to better themselves and their careers.  Sadly, social media has lead to several countless trends that just seem pointless other than to demonstrate just how arrogant and self-centered people really are.  One of the most narcissistic trends to happen in the last 5 years is the one focusing on taking pictures of yourself.  These have now been dubbed selfies.  Recently, I was asked to check out the supernatural short Selfie.  I love all horror, for the most part, and agreed to check it out.

     The film follows a beautiful young woman who is enjoying an evening home alone watching television.  Her boyfriend starts texting her and over time she starts sending him selfies of herself.  In one of the pictures he notices someone behind her and asks who is in the home with her.  She replies that she is alone and pushes the person in the photo off as an odd shaped shadow.  She takes a few more selfies and she starts to see a figure in the background as well.  She begins to freak out and rushes up stairs snapping selfies along the way.  She soon discovers that she is not alone in her home.
     Ghost stories have always intrigued me but very few are able to deliver anything worth a damn.  Some are unable to deliver on the supernatural angle while others are unable to deliver a story worth watching.  Sadly, Selfie fell in one of the categories with the final product.  The acting in this one is a bit one sided due to the film only having one character.  She mostly sits there playing with her phone until the last few minutes when the threat makes itself more known. The acting does pick up there and you really feel that she is in immediate danger.  For this type of film the acting in great.  The story for this one is lacking.  The film is a ghost story with more ghost than they have story.  A young girl takes a selfie to discover that an apparition is behind her.  The short is very short and the story suffers for it.  Finally, the film has no real on screen kills and practical effects.  Instead, the film relies heavily on the mood and suspense to give the viewer some horror.  Overall, Selfie is a short modern take on the classic ghost story.  Sadly, the running time takes away from the story.  The short is fun and deserves to be checked out.