Social Nightmare (2013) Reviews

• Social Nightmare (Mother): Asylum's Best Movie?

  Platypuschow2015-06-07

  The Asylum is an awful company, truly embarrassing. They essentially ripoff existing blockbuster movies, yet every once in a while do something original......like this. Daryl Hannah may well be the biggest star The Asylum have ever had in one of their movies and she hams it up perfectly in this drama/thriller. The whole cyber bullying theme won't be new to you and has been done a great deal better but this isn't without its merits. A bearable cast makes the mundane script and beyond belief predictable "Twist" watchable. Though this brings nothing new to the table you can do a great deal worse. If however you want something similar but made better then give "Nowhere Safe" a go.

• Very good Lifetime movie

  authorb222014-05-03

  I don't understand all the hate that this movie gets. I found the movie very entertaining, and thought I feel Daryl Hannah's acting wasn't the best, it didn't hinder the movie by much. And Kirsten Prout it very talented and attractive. The plot is that high school senior Kat Hardy (Prout), an academically successful student who's class president and recently accepted into Brown university, has her future jeopardized by a hacker who posts inappropriate and insulting things, turning her friends against her. The hacker's actions slowly cause her life to unravel, ultimately causing her to be pulled to the edge of sanity (that's a little extreme, but she does have to take pills for it). The plot is very intriguing and the acting, for the most part, was very good. But the twist at the end (which I won't spoil) is pretty obvious after a while. Here's some more negatives I have: 1. The movie's DVD title. I won't say it, because it spoils the entire movie. If they HAD to release the movie under a new title, they should have chosen the working title, Offline. 2. Daryl Hannah's performance as Kat's mother, Susan, isn't the best. But it isn't the worst, either. This is still a great movie to watch. But I suggest watching it on TV so you don't get it spoiled by the DVD title.

• Ridiculous and Offensive

  LoraceDem2013-11-20

  This film wastes a potentially interesting subject (an abusive mother who intentionally sabotages and destroys the life of her daughter and friends) by falling into lifetime movie clichés. It was actually disgusting to see all of the shallow, unbelievable and lazy plot points that come up, for instance someone emails a blurry picture of a girl drinking a wine cooler (but it could be a bottle of lemonade for all we know) to admissions at Yale, and they not only open the email and read it, but they revoke a student's admission as a result? It's so bad, though maybe there was some amusement in seeing what actors agreed to slum it for this production; such Rachel True's role as a (vice principal? teacher? counselor?--apparently all three) which she didn't even bother to phone in, and it's always fun seeing Tuvok from star trek voyager. But not only was the depiction of events unbelievable and impossible, so was the end scene ultimately infuriating. Her daughter tells her she's not responsible for leaking naked pictures of her daughter online, drugging her, physically assaulting people and slandering, defaming dozens of students at her daughters school, and she replies that "I know, that's what my therapists told me too, it's just a chemical imbalance." When no, it isn't; you're a criminal and should be in jail, you don't have a right to abuse your daughter or other young people. This kind of abuse is a deep seated pattern that you do need to take responsibility for in order to change. No qualified therapist or mental institution would say "it's not your fault" after all of that. I hate lifetime!

• Mother aka Social Nightmare is one of those strange movies which with some tinkering could have been better than what you get.

  Amari-Sali2013-11-28

  The main reason I saw this film was because there are a lot of familiar faces in it. Daryl Hannah, who I know solely from Kill Bill and that mermaid movie; Kirsten Prout, whose career I'm only familiar with when it comes to her ABC Family shows; Chloe Bridges, who I know from The Carrie Diaries; then there is Brandon Smith, who is one of the many Disney boys who never made it big; and lastly, Rachel True who I remember from The Craft and when she had a show on UPN called Half & Half more than a decade ago. Together they work in a film which has its flaws, yet remains entertaining throughout, for more specifics, read below. Characters & Story The lead for this film is Kirsten Prout's character Catherine who fits 90% of Prout's roles. She is sweet, innocent and has that girl next door charm. The only difference between this character and most of Prout's is that she is popular. Beside her, in a strong supporting role, is Bridge's Emily who is Catherine's academic rival and best friend. When you first meet her though, she does give you the idea that you are about to watch a Thirteen rip-off, but as time goes on you realize that one wine cooler doesn't mean she is going to be the one to blow Catherine's mind. Outside of those two are Daniel (played by Brandon Smith) who is Catherine's boyfriend, with a special needs sister; Mrs. Langran (played by Rachel True) who is the school's guidance counselor and adviser to the Yearbook Club; and lastly there is Susan Hardy (played by Daryl Hannah) the mom experiencing the first onset signs of Empty Nest Syndrome. Altogether they create a story featuring the reasons why you should change your passwords and create backup fail safes for your social account and phone. Also, as a subplot, the movie also deals with bullying of special needs people, friendship and how school systems really fail at protecting kids. So, needless to say, a lot is going on. Praise To begin the praise, I must say I was quite entertained by the film, but this is because I came into it without setting my standard high. It was a movie I never heard of and seeing Daryl Hannah's name on anything is like seeing Eugene Levy, you know not to set your sights too high. But, Prout and Bridges somehow save the film by making it seem like a pilot. Two girls with dreams of opening a business, going to Brown together, dorming together, and both doing a double-major. Off the bat the film has these girls more developed than any film similar. Then, to add onto things, I liked how Daniel was portrayed as not just a boyfriend but protective big brother as well. However, once the drama came, I feared for the worst, and yet things still kept steady and remained interesting. Admittedly, from the poster alone, and the title I saw for the film, the ending is spoiled, but there were still a handful of moments when I did question if perhaps we were setup to believe something and would end up tricked. Criticism Unfortunately though, this did not happen and that is the sole issue I have with the film. If they simply made it so that Susan wasn't so obviously doing everything, this film could have been so much better. Hannah as the mom she plays is fine, she is protective, has good reasoning and though I'm not sure how they afford the big house they live in, I can write that bit off. However, once the drama roles in and Catherine's life goes to hell, there isn't much room for doubt. Yes, they present the idea that people besides Susan could have done it, but they give no real evidence to significantly sway you. In fact, only one incident in the movie makes you think Susan maybe didn't do everything, and they take away that doubt quickly. Overall: TV Viewing There is a reason this was a made-for-TV movie. For one, no one in the film, except Daryl Hannah back in the day, are at that point where their name means something when slapped on a film. This isn't to say they aren't talented, but Prout is basically type casted, and Bridges seemingly is on her way to doing the same with her career. Yet, at the same time, the film deserves to be checked out, especially since it is easily available for free, since the only bad element of it is the fact the mystery of who is ruining Catherine's life is weak. Outside of that, there is little wrong with this film. I'd even argue that if you remodeled it, even with Hannah's crazy character, you could potentially make a show out of this. Whether it would be a hit though, I couldn't say.

• Worst Movie I've Seen in Years

  LAlawMedMBA2013-08-31

  This film could have tackled a contemporary issue: The problems of hacked internet accounts and social media. Instead, the most innocent and least likely suspect erupted as the villain--a patently ridiculous ploy used by an utterly incompetent mystery writer. The only clue was the use of psychopharmaceuticals, which are known to be laden with side effects and to vegetate minds. Another horrendous failing was that individuals who appeared to be the culprits, some of whom were admitted to top Ivy League schools, proved instead to be moronic, as did school administrators. Rather than believing that an AP student, elected class president, was innocent, and that she was the victim of hacking, everyone unanimously despised, distrusted, and humiliated her, including her closest friend. Such a social scenario might happen if everyone were developmentally handicapped, but not in any real-world setting.