DEATH OF A VLOGGER
OUT 6 JULY DIGITAL HD
When Glaswegian vlogger Graham (Graham Hughes) films some spooky happenings in his flat, he begins an online circus he cannot stop. “The audience are into clickbait, spectacle and shaming people. If the truth is revealed along the way, that’s just a bonus, right?” So proclaims internet ghost-buster Steve (Paddy Kondracki), drafted in to help along with Graham’s BFF Erin (Annabel Logan). But what if the haunting’s real?
Working wonders with a miniscule budget, writer/director/producer/editor/ star Hughes pulls off a real coup with this frightening faux-documentary, a spiritual cousin to Joel Anderson’s more sombre Lake Mungo (2008). Whether dressed in a sheet and looming silently behind the characters, or popping up suddenly at a 360-degree live-feed séance, Graham’s unwanted guest is genuinely scary. The performances are loose and likeable, and there are valid points being made about internet chicanery and online shaming.
When the tide turns against him, Graham experiences “what it’s like to be a woman online – for one minute”, according to professional debunker Alice (Joma West). Meanwhile, Steve is every self-regarding supernatural “expert” you’ve ever seen, albeit in a worse shirt. Even in the film’s less inspired moments, Hughes throws so much at the screen – skits, talking heads, animations – that the pace never lags. It just goes to show what can be achieved with a little love, a lot of skill and a flair for cinematic sleight-of-hand. Matt Glasby