Are You a Watcher or a Player?

Nerve is directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Catfish, Paranormal Activity 3). The film stars Emma Roberts (We're the Millers, Scream Queens) and Dave Franco (Now You See Me, Bad Neighbours). "A high school senior finds herself immersed in an online game of truth or dare, where her every move starts to become manipulated by an anonymous community of "watchers". Nerve is a film that is perfect for today's teen audience - does it just please that audience or can it have a wider appeal?

The acting in Nerve is of a good standard - it is nothing we haven't seen before but Roberts and Franco do a nice job. They both also have pretty good chemistry. I actually don't really know how Roberts and Franco found themselves in this film as apart from the talent involved, it felt incredible small and almost TV-like at times - this could have used unknown talent and still been of the same quality in my opinion. Roberts and Franco didn't really bring much to the table but what they did bring was solid. Speaking of the film being TV-like, it really did feel like a TV movie at times - especially towards the beginning and I couldn't tell if I was liking it or hating it. Even though the concept is interesting, the actual plot didn't really feel cinematic enough - even though this app is mean to be a huge craze, you see the same people playing it all from the same city - it didn't really feel like it was on a large scale. 

Nerve does have some pretty unique technical aspects to it that I will praise. The film is very similar to 2015's Unfriended in terms of the technical aspects. I definitely preferred Nerve to Unfriended. There are also some unique camera shots which made the film feel even more realistic - for example, the way the film will flip to a phone's camera when the stunts are occurring - this made those scenes feel much more realistic and therefore more tension was created. Nerve is a very original film - whether that be its concept or how it was made, it was nice to see something different. 

My favourite thing about Nerve definitely is the thought-provoking idea of the app that is Nerve. I could actually see this being a thing in today's world! I love films that put out outrageous ideas that could actually be real (i.e. The Purge) - Nerve joins that group and I actually think, if there were no dangerous risks, this type of app would actually be pretty cool. However, the film has a pretty one dimensional plot - it has such a cool idea but it does the most basic thing with it - the plot is predictable, not very clear and has been given away by the marketing. However, Nerve really did have some tense moments - it really is a thrilling film! When the characters are carrying out the dares, I was on the edge of my seat - it was very uncomfortable to watch as it did feel so real! 

Nerve is a pretty solid film that I would recommend if you are aged 15-25 - it definitely appeal more to that audience - anyone older may be able to easily pick out the plot holes and not really get it. The acting is good but nothing special but the whole concept is pretty terrific. However, the actual film doesn't really do anything too interesting with that concept and it doesn't really feel like it is on a large scale - Nerve could easily pass as a TV movie. This surprisingly is one of the better films I have seen this year (there hasn't been too much competition though). I thoroughly enjoyed turning my brain off for 90 minutes and enjoying the film.