#ChadGetstheAxe

Movies come in genres and sub-genres, but this carves out a sub-sub-genre nicely. For that reason alone I have to give it a bonus point.

The cringe is rough to get past, but once the meat of the thing gets going, the ride is entertaining. About as much subtly as the rubber blade of the namesake chopping stick, the satire doesn't take itself seriously, nor should it. It doesn't take an active imagination to create a scenario where Gen Z streamers find themselves considering whether all the time and energy they pour into their online persona is really worth it; so they don't go out of their way and that's the right call. Instead, they build the character a story arc that's about as compelling as you'd get from an early 2000's SyFy channel original. The unexpected comedy from the comments section is constantly running on the side, and without it I imagine the film would flop.

But again, they did something that could've been so much worse if you just read it on paper... not that it's great, but... ok honestly don't even know how or why this worked for me but it did.

Boiled down to, "Is it entertaining?" Yes.

#chadgetstheaxe is really fun, smart horror comedy that offers lots of scares, lots of laughs, and lots to think about when it comes to social media and influencer culture. What I really appreciate though is that the social commentary is done in a way that is entertaining and clever without being overly earnest. The characters are all great and you unexpectedly end up being invested in all of them, the influencers' "fans" included. The movie is a continuous livestream making the fans ever-present through their live comments, which adds a lot of entertainment, but also makes you realize that the fans are also like villains in their own right. There are lots of unexpected twists and it's not overly gory, so it's still a good watch for people who might typically shy away from horror movies.

I would highly recommend.

#ChadGettheAxe is an attempt at found footage without it having to be found. Instead, they are streaming live when they go to a house reportedly owned by a satanic cult, and murders took place there.

First, all the characters are annoying and irritating. They fit perfectly into the standard stereotypes of younger 20s seeking fame and followers on their streaming channels. At the house, there are a few strange things that happen, and then someone starts attacking them one by one. Oh, and for fun's sake, they start streaming the streamers as they stalk them.

So plot is minimal. Characters are overall annoying. And they don't make the smartest choices. There are no real.

As a fan of horror, you learn over time that a 6 for a horror movie is sometimes a 7 or 8 when being viewed by an audience that appreciates or grew up with horror movies. I have seen dozens of movies I loved that on this platform were rated in the 5s or even 4s which early on confused me, but as you watch and watch you come to realize that certain media is held to different standard, just like how unimaginative superhero movies get 7s but all in all suck. When I saw a 6.5 for a found footage horror movie I was very exited, as movies I loved in the genre had rarely broken a 6/10 in the past, but what i got was some stupid horribly acted zoomer influenced bull that had almost no entertaining moments and actually 0 scary moments. The fact that this has or had a 100% on rotten tomatoes is just incomprehensible to me, there was almost nothing enjoyable about this movie, and almost shows how disenfranchised "cristics" are. I can't think of the name but a foreign film did the same premise 100x better (I think it was korean but had the same live feed premise just done without every character acting like an uglier Jake paul) and even that film was a 6.5 at best. Horrid acting, terrible writing, feels like a 49 year old wrote this with help from his 16 year old social media obsessed daughter, don't waste your time. It's honestly probably a 2 or a 3 out of 10 but giving it a 1 so horror fans don't get tricked the way I was into thinking this isn't a huge lazy piece of dooky.

Was fortunate enough to have watched this at Glasgow Frightfest 2023. What a great "found footage" film. Really funny moments in here, had an absolute blast watching with a massive audience, who were laughing and cheering throughout. Cast were all on-point, and the live-stream "comments" that popped up throughout the film added to the experience with recurring commenters developing hilarious and unique personalities . If you like A24 high-art horror or want something genuinely terrifying, this might not be for you, but if you want a really fun, creepy, easy watch - don't sleep on #chadgetstheaxe.