Chatroom (2010)

Sorry, this movie sucks

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Yeah of course its underrated but to be completely honest with you, i thought there wasn't a story to make the film more interesting or entertaining in a way. It was suppose to be scary but to me, it seemed like a poor budget film "trying" to be frightening and it tried too hard to have a major poor result.I know its suppose to be about a group of teens who meet up for real and talk to one another online in order to seek revenge to their selfish families. Yeah, it sounds like it was used a lot before in movies and yet, this movie just wants to copy everything and just forget about the rest. This does not make a successful British movie, a good movie should consist of a better story line, better actors and better settings. This is one of the movies that I wouldn't have time for because it looks unfinished and poorly made! Don't watch this is all i can say........

As soon as I finished watching this movie, I made an IMDb account so I could write this review. The movie Chatroom takes place almost entirely online, with the setting being shown in a very unique way on-screen. As the teens log in, we see the internet become personified as a hotel-like place, each door leading to a different room (some locked, some public). The hallways to the rooms are filled with a variety of people, including pedophiles, barely clothed women, men in suits, small children, teens, and every day normal people. The internet is a very diverse place and chatrooms are used by many. Luckily, not all are used in the way it was in this feature.The main character, Will (a seemingly normal, though troubled teen) creates a chatroom and allows only the 4 other characters in to talk to him. Towards the middle of the movie it begins to come to light that Will's intentions for the room are not positive at all. He aims to hurt some of the others, and attempts to convince another to commit suicide. Even though the ending was rather predictable for a movie of this type, I still enjoyed it very much. What made me want to write my ideas on the movie was a review I saw on Netflix about how terrible of a movie this was. I'll be honest, if you're looking for something to keep you on the edge of your seat, this may not be it. However, it's definitely honest. Between 12 and about 17, I frequented chatrooms nearly every night. This movie almost portrays my experience to a t. I was a lonely kid, and I found friends who I thought I could trust and confide in. I came across my fair share of pedophiles and generally bad people. I've seen people bully relentlessly and even tell people to kill themselves until they were forced to leave, hopefully unscathed emotionally. This movie brings to light a harsh reality that youth today are living. With technology so readily available- it is going to be abused. We need to be watching our connections and parental block is definitely your friend if you're a parent. Kids are looking for answers online, and it's not a safe place to be looking at all. Don't get me wrong, I have made lasting relationships through chatrooms. I even lived with a man who I met online, but it isn't worth the risk. I've also been black mailed similarly to how the character tried to black mail the other characters into keeping quiet, the only difference is that I got blackmailed into sending nude pictures while I was underage. These things are happening to teens way more than people realize, because no one is telling you. None of these kids told their parents about what was happening, and none of their parents took action because they didn't think anything was wrong. Chatroom can only be considered a horror if you realize the reality of it.I suppose what I'm really trying to say in this review is, if you watch this movie and read the reviews and read this one, take as much of this movie to heart as you can. It's a reality that you're going to probably have to handle with your kids when you have them, and if you have them now, they may already be involved. They may not be in as bad of a situation, or any situation at all, but stay in the know and keep connected. It's too risky not to. The technology may change, but with every good opportunity, there are just as many bad to counteract it.

If you like psychological thrillers such as Donnie Darko or The Butterfly Effect, then you will love this film. It perfectly meets the 'psychological thriller' genre by including elements of horror, mystery and plot twists through out the entire film.It's a film that reflects troubled teens in a very realistic way. It shows aspects of the internet without using cheesy text talk, emoticons, or any other typical languages used in most 'wannabe teen' films. Instead of all that, an entire world is created in online form, making it so the film isn't just five lonely teenagers staring at a computer screen.I would not take the IMDb rating into account. There are not many films that reveal the lives of lonely and depressed teenagers this realistically. The script was very powerful, the editing was incredible and the acting was remarkable (especially Matthew Beard, in my opinion).It is definitely worth watching.

A group of jaded teenagers meet online in an internet chatroom called Chelsea Teens! The group led by William a clever and manipulative adolescent, form a quick and tight bond via sharing their most intimate secrets with each other. However as they bond tighter together it is apparent some members of the chatroom have more sinister agendas.Director Hideo Nakata is best well known for Ringu, a chilling tale of a mysterious video which kills anyone who watches it, was in many ways the catalyst for Hollywood remaking Japanese horror. Ringu was remade as The Ring, with Naomi Watts, quickly followed by Ju-on, remade as The Grudge starring Buffy. In both cases the Hollywood remake is not a patch on the original. And this is what Chatroom feels like, a cheap and rushed Hollywood remake. However this time there is no precursor.Let's start with the good stuff though. At the heart of Chatroom there is an interesting and potentially compelling premise. The internet is the one place which offers true anonymity and Nakata portrays this via an innovative physical visualisation of the online world, focusing on the chatroom arena. You watch the characters make their way down long corridors filled with stereotypical internet users deep in conversation with each other. You see couples getting busy who clearly don't match the physical description they are giving each other, alongside the more sinister picture of grown adults talking with young children. Along the corridors there are a number of different doors, each the gateway into a different chatroom. Once inside Nakata films the interactions as physical encounters, with each character sat on a chair facing the others, in something akin to a group counseling session. The occasional flashbacks to the users sat at their computers keeps us grounded in the real world and works well in demonstrating how some characters, but not all, portray themselves in a very different light online.However this interesting premise is let down by a poorly constructed script and distinct lack of character development. The dialogue between the group at their first encounter feels incredibly forced and the ease with which William (Aaron Johnson - post Kick Ass) leads the group into sharing their most intimate secrets is far too rushed. The secrets which each member chooses to share are clichéd at best and ill thought through and borderline offensive at worst. In a film with effectively only 5 characters there should be enough scope within the script to bring each character to a satisfying conclusion. Unfortunately this is not the case here, with the film quickly focusing on the relationship between William and Jim (Matthew Beard) so leaving the other three characters floating in the wind. There is simply no effort made to resolve their sub plots and all three feel significantly short changed. I was left sorely disappointed by Chatroom. Through its clichéd characters and lack plot development you are left with what feels like a hollow shell of a film. You have to give it credit for attempting to deal with the dangers associated with the internet such as sexual predators and teen suicide, but it does so in such a clumsy and misjudged manner that whatever message it is trying to portray is simply lost. With a director with the pedigree of Nakata and a premise of real potential this should have been better. In fact it needs remake.