User reviews

With mainstream films such as Tangerine and Unsane using the same technique out of Hollywood, this Midlands film has utilised the flexibility, speed and high quality of modern smartphones to capture their drama about hacking and obsession.

Cyberlante begins with our lead Matt (played by Gavin Gordon) who is down on his luck and takes a boring job at a local hotel to earn his living. With support from his friend Ozzy (played by Domenic Tiberius Russo) he undertakes the menial work under the eye of obnoxious boss Clayton (Mark Peachey).

Discussing his previous work, we uncover Matt has utilised his internet expertise in less than honourable ways by hacking and scamming in the past. Has he moved beyond this? Well, the film shows how this skill can be put to use in another way, which helps uncover even worse deeds.

The first half an hour sets up the above, but in a weird way the film reverses the old adage 'show don't tell' so much that I was itching for more "tell". Especially the lack of dialogue to create drama and conflict in each scene. Instead there's lots of contemplative walking. A faster pace could have really helped as there wasn't a great deal of content here at the beginning. Most of the story by that point could have been set up in a third of the time.

However, my wish for a bit more narrative oomph does come in the second half though. Mark Peachey's excellent role as the work bully develops into darker territory, as themes of cyber-stalking and tailing his ex-partners begin to bubble up in the story.

For being a super low budget thriller made by a bunch of amateurs (reportedly thrown together from whatever was left after infighting caused some of the key crew members from a different project to cancel the original film and take off), this was surprisingly okay.

The hacking sequences were passable (some overlays of progress bars and code and stuff, but nothing terribly distracting), not nearly as goofy as the 90s hacker movie tropes we're all used to.

Still, the movie definitely had its faults. At one point, a barista is delivering his one line and an unnecessary over-the-shoulder shot focuses on it written out on the pad of paper he's holding. Also, for the epilogue they use a blooper take where the actors start cracking up and joking at the end for some reason?

There are definitely worse ways to spend 73 minutes. If you can look past the movie's rookie mistakes and weird decisions, it's worth checking out.

Matt, an ex-carjacker who is getting into computer hacking as a hobby, is trying to go straight and takes a job in the kitchen of a quaint English inn owned by Clayton. After having enough of Clayton's issues, Matt starts digging around and discovers that Clayton is super abusive towards the women he dates, might have killed his last girlfriend, and is currently harassing a woman named Georgina. Figuring that he can't go to the cops (because of the whole carjacking thing), Matt decides to become a cyber vigilante (oh no, is that what "cyberlante" is supposed to mean?) and take Clayton down himself.

I thoroughly enjoyed this well shot, naturally acted crime thriller. It's amazing what's been accomplished with a small budget!

This movie had me captivated from start to finish. Great story and acting. I highly recommend this movie, very entertaining.

You're not sure what to expect with a no budget film, let alone one shot on a smartphone, but this is a beautifully shot, beautifully paced film which slowly draws you in as the suspense gradually builds. Highly recommended!

I enjoyed this experimental film. The pace at the start was a little slow and you weren't sure where it was headed but once the thread became obvious, it was gripping. Couldn't let go and loved the ending. Reserve your judgement and enjoy it.

This was just a flat out terrific movie. I watched the trailer which led me to watching the film. I made a solid choice in watching this wonder film! The acting and story were both really good. I would for sure suggest this film to others to watch. Well done folks!!