Was drawn into seeing 'Selfie from Hell' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing if not creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.
'Selfie from Hell' is a film it doesn't do enough with its potential (although there are far bigger wastes of potential in film) and could have been much better, can't say that it is a great film because it isn't. It is not a terrible film though, as far as recent low-budget film viewings go it's one of the lacklustre but watchable ones easily. It certainly could have been far worse, considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre at best and terrible at worst.
Although 'Selfie from Hell' is far from great and could have been much better, will agree who consider the rating too low. Have seen far worse films recently that have a higher rating, for example a few irredeemably awful films that get around 4.4.
Lets start with the positives. The setting is atmospheric and spooky and 'Selfie from Hell' is surprisingly well shot and easy on the eye, was expecting a cheap looking film and to me that wasn't the case here.
'Selfie from Hell's' at least doesn't have one want to tear their hair out or annoyed. There are suspenseful and creepy moments and there are parts that capture the horror of this very dangerous subject very well.
Albeit, it could have explored the subject more. It could have been more enlightening and said more of what was not already known. The creepiness is not sustained all the way through, with the horror and tension giving away later to dullness and a lack of creativity and shocks. Things start not making much sense and gets silly. The acting is not amateurish as such but is uninspired.
Further issues are that it was clear that it was written in haste. There is a very rushed and careless feel to the story, especially in the second half where confusion and choppy can be found, and the underdeveloped and scrappy script likewise. The characters are flimsily developed and bland, the direction lacks focus and the music is far too intrusive, sounds cheap and irritating.
In conclusion, lacklustre but not a waste of time. 4/10 Bethany Cox
