Dear David

A horror-movie, with at its core the (over)abundant use of social media, has an attractive 2020's touch to it. The critical edge is well done, we see the main character being absorbed by his cell phone, to the extent of neglecting his friends and even his lover; and we see how his social media company thrives on inventing new trending topics - however extreme or cringing - just to expand their bulk of followers.

But as an intended horror movie it fails. The premise is just too farfetched, and the execution too chaotic to make it really involving. Apart from a few creepy images, that flash by in an instant, there's hardly anything scary going on, and it's hard to get a grip on the supposed narrative. It's some sort of Candyman or Bye Bye Man "saying something three times" thing: in this case asking the supernatural internet troll a question three times, that does the trick of summoning a horrific fate unto yourself. But why this troll haunts the internet, or why Adam is chosen as a target, never becomes clear. The acting was just average. And it didn't really help that the Adam-character was rather sulky and unsympathetic, and not very pleasant to look at.

I assumed Dear David to be a serious horror movie, however it blew me away with it's horrible attempts at being scary! The script is unnatural and tonedeaf, this is not how the internet works and this is not how people talk. Every jumpscare flopped, there was no suspense or tension throughout, very disappointing for a HORROR MOVIE. Despite being produced by BuzzFeed, (a news company that writes about stuff that happens on the internet) it felt out of touch and was as if it was written by someone who doesn't use the internet often. Ontop of that, the story and script made no sense, despite being based off of something that (supposedly) actually happened. And, with as little spoilers as possible, the video game segment was the worst bit of this movie. If I had a single ounce of respect for this movie after any of the previous events, it was gone after the video game segment. All in all, this movie is atrocious, it isn't scary or funny, or even entertaining! Save your money and keep away.

Dear David is another horror film (like Elevator Game) based on an internet meme.

In this case, an old Buzzfeed twitter thread about a man who claims he is being haunted/trolled by a sleep paralysis demon, in the form of a young boy, named David.

Both in waking life...and on the internet.

Having never been a Buzzfeed user- or internet trend follower- myself...this is the first I'm hearing of it.

So I'm of the viewer class who has gone into the movie without being privy to the trend it is based on.

Which makes the whole thing seem like it was funded by Buzzfeed, in an attempt to recapture the attention of the internet, in a way that could garner them the virality that the original story managed to perpetuate.

An elaborate marketing scheme designed to farm clicks...which is all it ever was in the first place, mind you.

And it almost worked.

As I was somewhat enticed to search for Buzzfeed...if only to see if it is actually still relevant.

However, it wasn't enticing enough to overcome my will not to care.

Which kind of gives you an idea about how the movie sits.

Storywise (on it's own), it just comes off as a mediocre psychological horror that is based on "the entity" experience (made famous by the much better, based-on-a-true-story, film, from 1985, of that name).

Only, with the male character, here, experiencing a male form of the entity...presumably, because he's gay.

As men normally experience a gray-haired crone, as opposed to the shadow-like male entity experienced by females.

That being said...that's not to say that this is overtly horrible...or by any means unwatchable.

Just that it's kind of mid, in comparison to it's much better predecessor.

Because the action bits in this don't hit as hard.

While the attempts at jump scaring you just aren't effective.

Though, to be fair...this film is much more psychological in nature.

Focusing on the fragile mental state of the main character- and his subsequent downward spiral- as opposed to a physical investigation into the paranormal nature of the unseen world from which this phenomenon originates.

So...it is of a somewhat different nature, despite being based on a somewhat similar experience, of a very real phenomenon (I'm well aware of because it happened to a friend of mine...and led to a police incident, which I ended up writing a song about).

Which is precisely why it can be exploited by company's like Buzzfeed, whose bottom line is based on creating the next viral sensation...not only to garner clicks...but keep itself relevant.

Which is, unfortunately, what this film feels like it's a desperate attempt to do, in the end.

4.5 out of 10.

Anybody that was on Twitter when this story was an active thread, will know it was an intriguing read.

Whilst this movie is "based" on those tweets, Adam Ellis supposedly had nothing to do with it as he left BuzzFeed years ago and according to him, they had the rights to all his work (including this story) If you're unfamiliar with the original story, maybe you will enjoy this non horror, drama based relationship movie. If you want to see the original Twitter feed he has moved it to Wakelet. It truely is a fascinating and creepy read.

This movie just had me questioning who tricked Justin Long into acting in another awful "horror" movie.

Don't pay to see it, wait til it's free.

1. It's a BuzzFeed Studios original film, and BuzzFeed is a putrid pestilence, a blight on Internet's body that fuels the addiction to the "content" and boils people's brains. *a disgruntled Desperate Housewives character GIF*

2. The main character is a chubby, neck-bearded, latte-sipping, overly sensitive yet sarcastic gamer dude in his 30s, obediently serving the corporate by doing a laptop-ridden, "creative" job of drawing infantile, disposable comics. In other words, the very worst caricature of Millennials you could imagine. *a reality show Black woman cackling GIF*

3. The story is contrived, exploitative and unapologetically poorly-thought. *an Ad*

4. The dialogues are written by someone severely lacking real-life communication skills and experience. *an Andy Samberg "Gotcha!" GIF*

5. There's a scene where the main character (an adult man, in case you missed) hides under the blanket. *a Steve Harvey "WTF" GIF*

6. The CGI is ludicrous and amateur. *an Ad*

7. The scariest thing about Dear David is that it might be the last thing someone watched before dying. What a horrible way to go. *a creepy smiling Willem Dafoe GIF*

8. The script fails miserably to blend elements of horror, comedy and drama together, creating an uneven and borderline appalling mess.

9. The whole Twitter killer schtick died in 2014, when there was supposed to be a film called #ikllr, but even the director bailed on it and left it permanently unfinished. *a The Office "It's true" GIF*

10. Dear David is a cringe-inducing, shallow, vapid and downright miserable experience that no one deserves.

Related article: These 27 Twitter Threads Absolutely Do Not Need A Screen Adaptation.