.Com para Morrer (Net Games)

Now then folks, I enjoyed this film and have a feeling that it has never been available on a proper release in the U.K. I acquired an American import just recently and having watched it, cannot understand why it hasn't been available here. It is true to say that some of the reviews do speak very favourably and, in many instances, I can understand that. Granted, some of the acting is appalling.....particularly Lala Sloatman and Monique Demers. It is of no wonder that Ms Demers CV is not very long. However, I feel that the story, in the main, has been well thought out, with plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing. Sure, the unveiling of the protagonist was a bit disappointing and the sudden transformation from meek housewife to Rambo was a bit over the top, but remember, this film was made in 2003 and if things like this could have happened on the internet then, just imagine who could be watching you now!! Anybody!! You could say that this film was a very big warning of things to come. C Thomas Howell is an extremely accomplished actor and turns in a pretty good performance, as does Sam Ball, and Maeve Quinlan is good fun as the detective. All in all, I thought this to be a good, watchable movie. A little over the top at times sure, but still pretty enjoyable.

A young married man with a wife who is a recent, traumatized rape victim, turns to a cyber-sex Internet site at the suggestion of a friend. He quickly gets ensnared into a conversation/sex session with Angel. Angel is a nut case. The wife, along with her therapist, goes to visit her rapist in prison to bring closure. The confrontation is brief and really pretty ridiculous. The wife returns home ready to hop into bed, having gotten over her post-traumatic stress by yelling some obscenities at the rapist. Meanwhile, our hero is being stalked by Angel after he tries to break off the relationship. She has called him at home, his office, sent pictures.

There is no explanation for who took the pictures; no explanation as to why this seemingly intelligent man would fall for this. He agrees to meet with Angel and finds a dead body. He and his friend Ray bury the body, assuming it is Angel. No explanation is given as to who might have killed her or why.

As a red herring, perhaps, the police detective in this case is blonde and attractive and looks remarkably like Angel. And so does the wife's therapist. The sex is monotonous and looks like they shot two or three scenes to be used over and over. Acting is okay. Production values okay. The plot is stupid. Ed Begley Jr, in a small part, must have been desperate for the money.

The successful publicist Adam Vance (C. Thomas Howell) of the SFC is in the middle of a campaign to get an important Japanese client and is needy of sex because his traumatized wife Jennifer Vance (Monique Demers) was raped one year ago and is totally frigid, refusing to have sex. His close friend and colleague Ray Walters (Samuel Ball) suggests Adam to visit the porn site cyber chat.net, where lonely people have erotic conversation. Adam meets Angel (Lala Sloatman), a luscious woman and hacker while his wife is visiting her rapist in the prison with her therapist as part of her treatment. When Adam decides to finish his virtual affair with Angel, he is chased and blackmailed by the deranged sexy killer.

"Net Games" has a shallow and flawed screenplay, with some erotic moments and many ridiculous scenes. Adam Vance is successful in his career and totally naive in Internet, giving his picture and phone number to a complete stranger. The meeting of his wife with her rapist is shameful, and I have never heard about this type of shock treatment for victims of rape. Jennifer is not only healed but shifts her character from a frigid and insecure woman to a hot bitch and brave female version of Rambo. The viewer never sees the face of Angel, but the therapist Dr. Klein (Joan Van Ark), Detective Sandra Simmonds (Maeve Quinlan) and even Jennifer's friend Peg Wallace (Vanessa Evigan) have a great resemblance with her, and the ambiguous sentence of Sandra in the end ("I know how he plays") is intended to confuse the viewer. There is no explanation for the stupid attitudes of Adam hiding a body with his mate or how his pictures in front of the computer and with the wife of his boss were taken. However, there are some entertaining moments in this forgettable movie, therefore my vote is five.

Title (Brazil): ".Com Para Matar" (".Com to Kill")

Net Games is an excellent movie once one realizes that it reflects a real situation and real dangers which browsers of the Internet face. The plot resembles the infamous "Cybersex Torture Case", a real court case in which a young woman used the Internet to lure a man into a sexual relationship with her and then, as part of her perversion, had him arrested.

Not only are women browsing the Internet searching for a man, but some of these women are actually FBI Agents posing as 14-year-old girls anxiously seeking sex with much older men. Any man who responds positively, falls into their trap. When her shows up to meet the supposed girl, he finds the handcuffs placed on him.

Yet, the Internet is a part of life which cannot be ignored. I met my own wife through the Internet. We would have never met otherwise. Now, we have a beautiful three-year-old girl. The movie Net Games provides a public service by warning the viewers of real dangers lurking out there on the Internet.

Sam Sloan

Going by quite a few different names Net Games is a cyber thriller crossed with a fatal attraction-esque plot.

It tells the story of a man whose sex life has gone off the rails after the rape of his wife. Unwilling to wait he turns to an online sex site and initially engages in little more than risque chat. But this is a movie so of course things escalate and before he knows it the mysterious girl on the other side of the screen has him by the short and curlys through a series of underhanded tactics and twisted games.

Starring b-movie legend C Thomas Howell, Star Treks own Marina Sirtis and a cameo appearance by Ed Begley Jr this thriller takes concepts froms everal other titles, blends them together and produces a rather trite little effort.

These movies immediatly suffers in my eyes due to the lack of a protagonist to care about. I'm sure plenty will argue that what he did was harmless but I personally disagree and question why I was supposed to be rooting for him and more importantly why yet another poor animal had to suffer for dumb "Heroes" sins.

I've seen much worse don't get me wrong, but the film is simply devoid of originality, you will predict everything coming and the rushed finale makes me question the writers place in the industry.

The Good:

Fairly well constructed

The Bad:

Weirdly uncomfortable viewing in places

Howell isn't leading man material

Begley was wasted

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

The movie makes cyber sex look a lot more exciting than it really is