Susan Granger’s review of “Nerve” (Lionsgate)
Playing on the ubiquitous prevalence of the Pokemon Go phenomenon, along with the popularity of horror films, the directing team of Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (“Catfish”) came up with this teen-oriented cyber-thriller.
On New York’s Staten Island, Venus “Vee” Delmonico (Emma Roberts) is a timid high-school senior living with her over-protective, single mother (Juliette Lewis). Knowing Vee’s desire for enough money to go California Institute for the Arts, her BFF Sydney (Emily Meade) introduces her to Nerve, a (fictional) live-stream smartphone game of dares.
This is the way it works: you download an app, then choose whether to be a Player or a Watcher. As voyeurs, Watchers suggest dares and there are cash prizes awarded to Players who participate. The riskier the dare, the more Watchers a Player get – and the bigger the payout.
It’s on-line gaming with a contrived, reality-show twist.
Naïve Vee’s first dare (as shown in the theatrical trailer) is to kiss a total stranger in public. Her chosen guy turns out to be Ian (Dave Franco). Since they immediately attract attention as a cute couple, Vee is paired up with Ian, and he happens to be a Player who’s up for some daredevil challenges in Manhattan.
Meanwhile, Vee’s computer hacker buddy Tommy (Miles Heizer) and increasingly jealous Sydney are observing from the sidelines with growing apprehension as danger lurks in the increasingly perilous stunts – like riding a motorcycle while blindfolded.
Adapted by jargon-savvy Jessica Sharzer (“American Horror Story”) from Jeanne Ryan’s 2012 YA novel of the same name, it’s filled with adrenaline-charged stunts, adroitly chronicled by cinematographer Michael Simmonds.
It’s a shame that 25 year-old Roberts and 31 year-old Franco appear much too mature to pass as teens – and that the late-in-coming caution about the seductiveness of Internet anonymity gets lost.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Nerve” is a socially conscious 6, appealing to media-obsessed Millennials who may not heed the warning and just find the sinister surveillance idea exciting.
