Screen Scene
Film Review: Nerve
By Rouén Robinson
Aug 4, 2016 - 1:22:13 PM


Are You A Watcher Or A Player?

A high school senior joins a popular online game for some harmless fun, but as she is partnered with a mysterious stranger the game begins to take a sinister turn with increasingly dangerous acts. When truths about the game are uncovered she must team up with her friends in a last ditch effort that will determine the future of all involved.

Venus ‘Vee’ Delmonico is a senior with dwindling prospects after high school and joins the online game Nerve as a player to prove to herself that she is tired of living life on the sidelines. Tommy is one of Vee’s closest friends who is attracted to her and joins Nerve as a watcher to keep an eye on her and to learn more about the inner workings of the mysterious game. Ian is a fellow player in Nerve who becomes Vee’s partner when the watchers of the game decide to pair them in thrilling adrenaline-fueled dares, but he has a secret that may end their budding romance. Ty is another player of Nerve who has been doing increasingly illegal acts at the behest of his audience and due to his need to win the game he becomes more erratic in his actions.

Nerve is a film that gets your attention and keeps it for the duration of the neon lit 96 minute thrill ride. It succeeds mostly on the charisma of Emma Roberts & Dave Franco and I am happy to report that they do a great job of keeping you interested in their antics from beginning to end. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman definitely show that they have what it takes to direct something together that is not a documentary or found footage film. Jessica Sharzer’s screenplay based on the young adult novel of the same name by Jeanne Ryan put’s me in mind of the rapid pace of the movie Hackers, but for millennials. I also enjoyed the soundtrack for this motion picture which should be credited as a character since it is a recognizable force driving your emotional connections in each scene. If I had any complaint it would be that the climax does not quite pay off on the premise set up through the course of the film.

I rate this movie a 3 out of 5.

In Theaters


See other reviews by Rouén HERE.


Rouén Robinson has been an avid moviegoer since childhood and has been critiquing motion pictures for almost a decade. He has been a film critic for The Cinemas on Tempo and was a judge for F LIFF On Location: Grand Bahama Island, an off shoot of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF). Rouén lives in Grand Bahama and can be reached at redr1976@icloud.com and on Twitter @thereelrouen

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