directed by:
Michael Cooke written by: Michael Cooke genre: Horror, Thriller |
Congratulations – we have a winner! "Curiosity" is freakin' terrifying. For a film that's all of eleven minutes and fifteen seconds long, I feel like you've really gotta hand it to Writer/Director/Actor Michael Cooke because this short Horror/Thriller is extremely well... executed. Ooo! Should I have written "spoiler alert" before that? Maybe! But also, maybe not. Here's the thing that most folks won't tell you about a film like this – you're going to be curious enough to watch it no matter what any of us critics have to say about it because that's how "Curiosity" works, y'all. We hear things. We see things. We are sometimes moved to action by the things we hear and see. Even if we try to resist at first because we're unsure of what we might find – "Curiosity" eventually gets the better of us all – and that's precisely the horrifyingly relatable thread that ties this entire story together at the core. Please be aware, that some spoilers do exist here - you've been warned.
What the main character of Kevin goes through is quite possibly something YOU could go through, too. I've always loved putting myself in the driver's seat of the lead character in just about anything I watch, but I was pretty damn mortified to learn I would have made similar choices as Kevin did in "Curiosity." This is exactly what has kept me away from the 'dark web' – and so far, to date, I've been stronger than my own "Curiosity" has been, thankfully. I still know that it's possible, though… maybe one day I'll do the same as Kevin, and I'll figure out how to get on there… you know, just to take a harmless peek. When he first logs on and immediately hits up the latest incarnation of the Silk Road (look it up, folks!), I felt a kinship with Kevin, the young musician. I know that's what I would have done, yes indeed. I'm so old that I remember when the internet was unregulated enough that you didn't even need to go the route of the dark web for what the Silk Road has to offer – you could just click to order back in my day! Glorious! Kevin clicks the link and soon gets distracted by what looks like some kind of in-site ad for some kind of mammoth gun, which he's excited about. You can tell from his first two moves on the dark web that it's exactly what he was hoping to find… at least, at the beginning. His next click is the one that is the most consequential by far, which sees the young man logging into some kind of grainy-ass stream that appears to be along the lines of what you'd expect to see in the "Hostel" series, crossed with the business potential of an internet style auction. The concept alone SHOULD make you seriously queasy, but the question you have to ask yourself is – would you actually look away? What if you saw someone who was in serious trouble, possibly about to be tortured or even killed online? Would you really just look away? Hold up a minute… I don't want you to think I'm some sicko that is arguing on behalf of the content itself because if that's what I really wanted to watch, then I WOULD already be on the dark web – which, again, I am not. I'm talking about the fact that you still have a few tools at your discretion – the fact that looking away or logging off is somewhat cowardly as a first reaction, ain't it? You could at least try to type in the chat to convince a maniac they shouldn't go through with their horrible plans, right? You could perhaps even voice your opinion if the site had voice-chat capabilities. You might be able to do something other than just watch it happen – that's my point, and if you're a good enough person, you probably would try to disrupt the horrifying scene you're watching online, just like Kevin chose to. There are consequences to every action we take in life, even inaction. Would Kevin have been able to live with himself if he hadn't tried to do something about what he was seeing in the livestream? Probably not. That's the real crux of "Curiosity" – most of us are probably like Kevin.
It made me think of seeing "American History X" for the very first time as a teenager. I came back from the theatre extremely affected by what I had seen, and I logged onto the internet to message every single racist I could find online and tell them they were horrible people. To me, that was the admirable way to go – I was doing something positive… maybe even helping the planet, just a little. When my dad woke up the next morning, and I told him what I had done, he freaked out. The dude seriously went ghost white and told me that what I had done was extremely irresponsible – not because he sided with the racists out there, but because he claimed those same a-holes I had messaged could be accountants, could be policemen, or… they could possibly even be internet providers. The point was that the bad guys could FIND ME if that's what they wanted to do, which remains true to this very day when it comes to the story of the internet. Kevin's actions in this short film confirm it's every bit as dangerous today as it has ever been, if not even more so. Unless you know your technology really, really well - and know how to hide your location like your address was physically located under the waves of the Bermuda Triangle, I suspect anyone out there can be hacked by someone who knows the system better than even the best hackers do. So remember that, dear readers, dear friends – be careful what you click because your life could truly depend on it in this weird world. Someone should have explained that to poor, curious Kevin. So much of "Curiosity" was pure perfection. Sure, there are gonna be a few haters out there who think everything from the idea itself to what we see onscreen was a bit too dark at times – but again, let's be real here – we've all sat through footage of some kind that we couldn't quite see clearly. To me, that was an essential part of the magic of "Curiosity" – Cooke makes us fill in the blanks with our imagination to explain what we can't quite see but know is implied, which seems to make this film even scarier in my opinion. I thought what he chose to show us clearly was every bit as brilliant as what he chose to keep hidden in the shadows. Acting-wise, the cast is small, and they're all solid overall – Kevin (Hunter Bishop) carries the most weight onscreen as he is in most scenes, so I feel like it's also fair to say that a large part of the reason that this short film works as well as it does is because he's so consistent and reliable in his role. We feel the fear he experiences because, again, we're all just one curious click away from being in the exact position he ends up finding himself in. "Curiosity" is a stellar example of a film that you'll feel like you know where it's going to go and how it'll end, but can't stop watching because of how the story is presented and shown to us. Personally, I think that's one of the harder things to do in the art of filmmaking - we all want those surprise moments we don't see coming, sure – but sometimes, when it's done right, it can be extremely effective and satisfying to simply end up at the conclusion a story should have. The ending of "Curiosity" will arrive at the destination you think it will, and you'll love it for that. Tremendously well done from start to finish – "Curiosity" gets an easy four & a half stars out of five from me – Michael Cooke nailed this film & could definitely be the next Eli Roth or James Wan in the making. |
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