Killer Net

This is even more 90s than living through the decade.

Scott, Joe and Susie are three students living in a Brighton flat. Joe and Susie are a couple but Scott is single... till one day he meets Charlotte on line. She also lives in Brighton and suggests they meet. For a while they are a couple... at least Scott thinks they are. Then one day she ends it. This happens around the time Scott has been playing an underground game called 'Killer Net'. It is a first person murder game, set in a choice of locations including Brighton, where one may stalk, murder and dispose of a victim then persuade the police of your innocence. If you succeed against one of the game characters you can enter the details of a real person. Feeling upset Scott enters Charlotte's details... soon she is found dead in a location used in the game. Did Scott use the game to work out how to commit murder or is there something sinister about the game?

I watched when it was first broadcast and enjoyed it, at the time I had never used the internet. Sitting down to watch it again now I feared it would have dated horribly... somewhat surprisingly it holds up pretty well. Yes some of the internet related stuff has dated but the central idea works quite well. The story isn't rushed; the murder doesn't take place till around the half way point. The first half shows us the various characters and their relationships as well as showing Scott and his friends' attempts to create the perfect murder within the game. The in game murder is rather disturbing thanks to the first person perspective... mirroring the classic 'Peeping Tom'. The cast does an impressive job; most obviously Tam Williams, Paul Bettany and Emily Woof as Scott, Joe and Susie and Cathy Brolly as Charlotte. Overall I'd recommend this; just be warned the DVD combines each episode to make a three hour twenty minute film!

I sneaked out of my room to watch this on TV - i was 12...

What a great show.

4 series drama on a game based on real life killing. Enough to make anyone sit upright in their seats.

I think it portrays the world to which we are now in - it seems dated on the film now, but that was nearly 10 years ago - technophobes.

Great acting from some young stars (and old!), great plot, bad ending - what happened next?! I had the video bought for me a few years back - i still watch it frequently as well.

Some of it was filmed very basic, but with intent - and it seemed to work perfectly, perfect shots/angles, everything portrayed fantastically, in my opinion.

A must see for anyone, and Paul Bettany does a fantastic performance.

Watched it last night on late night TV. Engrossing film. Not recommended for the very squeamish. The film contains some nudity and drug use, as well as vivid violent allusions. Wasn't too bad, took me to about 30-45 minutes before the end to know who the killer was and work out everything that was going on. Which is longer than most of the movies out and about today. Some interesting twists and turns mixed with some subtle humour. Kept me from going to bed until the very end. (I just had to know if they caught the killer!)

Worth watching at least once.

I watched this solely for Paul Bettany but was pleasantly surprised to see Emily Woof and Jason Orange amongst the cast, all of whom are very good. Paul Bettany is a very strong presence and he overshadows the lead actor's performance.

I presume when this was first aired on TV it was a 3-part drama. I found the first hour tedious as we were introduced to the characters not all of whom were convincing - notably the lead character Scott and the wild girl Charlie/Charlotte. However, once the computer game 'Killer Net' was underway it picked up apace and grew increasingly interesting. The computer game idea worked well and was thrilling as well as menacing. The plot line was unsurprising and I guessed the denouement as it neared the end.

The drama is two stories woven into one that intersect when Scott selects his 'Libra' murder victim (to understand what this means you will have to watch). The first and prime story is about Scott and his friends and the other concerns the designer of the software.

If you enjoy Linda La Plante and appreciate Paul Bettany you'll probably find this a well acted drama. What lets the production down is the very dated computer technology, not into video games myself it did not bother me too much, though I imagine it will irritate some.