Cam is a 2018 American science fiction horror film directed by Daniel Goldhaber from a screenplay by Isa Mazzei, based on a storyline by Goldhaber, Mazzei and Isabelle Link-Levy. The movie stars Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh (The First Purge), Melora Walters (Venom), and Devin Druid. It was financed by Blumhouse Productions and Gunpowder & Sky and produced by Divide/Conquer.
Plot:
Alice (Madeline Brewer) is an ambitious camgirl, who wakes up one day to discover she’s been replaced on her show with an exact replica of herself. As this copy begins to push the boundaries of Alice’s internet identity, the control that Alice has over her life, and the men in it, vanishes.
While she struggles to regain what she’s lost, Alice slowly finds herself drawn back to her show and to the mysterious person who has taken her place…
Reviews [may contain spoilers]:
“Perhaps no explanation for the events would be satisfying, and indeed there’s some ambiguity as to what actually happens, but Cam‘s final ten minutes or so are a bit of an abstract muddle. A slight shame, but not a deal-breaker; Cam has enough evocative atmosphere to succeed in getting under your skin, and Brewer’s superb performance ensures this techno thriller won’t easily be forgotten.” Eric Walkuski, Arrow in the Head
” …an intensely thrilling horror film. The visual aspects and the score only enhance how spectacular the film is. Then of course there is Brewer’s outstanding portrayal of the many sides of Alice. Cam is a profound film as well as an entertaining one and it is a film I highly recommend…” The Blogging Banshee
“You’re equally bound for disappointment if the backdrop of Alice’s profession grooms expectations for sensationalized sexuality. Cam’s cerebral thrills are not centered on titillation. Cam is a clever, creepy, completely compelling character deconstruction and reconstruction nestled inside an enigmatically eerie horror story.” Ian Sedensky, Culture Crypt
“Daniel Goldhaber’s precise direction (there’s a killer tracking shot halfway through the film), Mazzei’s personal touches to the script, and Brewer’s heartfelt performance combine to deliver a wholly modern horror film. There’s dread and shock, tension and heartbreak, and though the story loses its intensity near the end (as these films often do) it never betrays its core theme.” Ben Larned, Daily Dead
” …my biggest issue with Cam is its finale, as I thought it ventured into a place that felt woefully out of line with everything that preceded it […] considering how grounded the previous 80 or so minutes of Cam felt, the conclusion seemed slightly disjointed to me. There’s no denying that first-time filmmaker Daniel Goldhaber has created something special with Cam, though…” Heather Wixson, Daily Dead
“Screenwriter Isa Mazzei is a former camgirl herself and it shows in the film’s focus on the business side of proceedings, but director Daniel Goldhaber extends her work in a much stranger direction, piling on layers of visual hyperreality that parallel the narrative developments, forcing viewers to question what can and cannot be relied upon” Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film
“It’s a compelling narrative driven by a solid performance from Madeline Brewer that becomes only more intriguing as Alice dives deeper into this strange technical nightmare she begins living. Because her doppleganger is streaming almost non-stop, it lands Alice in hot water with her family members, who find out what her job is – adding another interesting layer to the film.” Adam Patterson, Film Pulse
” …it’s the sci-fi elements that create the real horror in this gem! The story is based on real events in the sense that the writer (and executive producer), Isa Mazzei, used to be a “cam girl” herself. This creates a story with much more informed realism than any kind of prejudice and exposé that you might fear.” Karin Adelgaard, Heaven of Horror
” …Cam is able to reflect the strange house of mirrors that we’re all lost in whenever we log on, and it’s able to viscerally convey the panic of trying to find a way out. The ultimate solution that Alice devises is too simple to be dramatically satisfying, but it’s believable enough to scare you off social media… if only for a couple of minutes.” David Ehrlich, IndieWire
“Cam excels in building tension and confusion without every making you feel lost. We don’t understand what is going on because Alice doesn’t understand what going on. Cam easily contains some of the most interesting uses of technology and internet culture since Tragedy Girls, and is a must-see for anyone scared they’re losing themselves, one megabyte at a time.” Jonathan Deehaan, Nightmare on Film Street
” …an excellent showcase for Brewer, who carries this movie through so many tense passages and helps viewers immediately recognize the complicated human behind the camera, and Goldhaber, who grabs a sturdy pitch and runs with the horror of it. The ending feels like a bit of a cop-out, even with all of the existential questions floating around its story.” Nick Allen, RogerEbert.com
Cast and characters:
- Madeline Brewer … Alice / Lola
- Patch Darragh … Tinker
- Melora Walters … Lynne
- Devin Druid … Jordan
- Imani Hakim … BabyGirl_
- Michael Dempsey … Barney
- Flora Diaz … Fox
- Samantha Robinson … PrincessX
- Jessica Parker Kennedy … Katie
- Quei Tann … LuckyDuck
- Linda Griffin … Jen
- Clint Jung … Officer Lee
- Carl Donelson … Officer Reynolds
- Brayden Skoglund … Sean
- Elijah Stevenson … Peter
- Paris Peterson … Justin
- Emily Berry … Maid
Filming:
Principal photography on Cam began in March 2017.
Release:
Cam was released on Netflix and theatrically on November 16th 2018.
