I Lived

The opening shot is a pair of vacant eyes and the sound of flatlining. Except Franck Khalfoun's follow-up to Maniac isn't some desperately moody and morose slow-burn horror, but a swift, darkly comic psychological thriller with ultra-modern themes. Khalfoun is writer, editor, producer and director, and his control of the material shows – up to a point, anyway.

i-Lived itself is a fictional app designed to help you achieve your life goals. Type in your ambition, and then follow the instructions that the app churns out. It gets into the hands of Josh (Jeremiah Watkins), a tech vlogger who's trying to get his app review show off the ground. His videos are convincingly abrasive, and packed with amusing narrative references which appear goofy but are loaded with relevance ("Are you proud of me, Dad?" He's really not). Josh is shy and awkward IRL but he's confident on camera.

When Josh aspires to woo a girl named Greta (Sarah Power), the app advises he learn to cook, dance, read poetry etc. The strongest section of the story is when we watch Josh attempting to manufacture this perfect personality for himself, in order to appeal to his prey. It plays into the solipsistic fantasy that modern technology can evoke. But then the app starts instructing him to perform more sinister, criminal acts. Is Josh a pawn in someone else's sick game? Or is his bona fide shadow side being given an outlet through this virtual observer?

The first half of the film contains many thought-provoking ideas. There's something here about the way it is practically possible nowadays to Google-whack our way to social approval. Also, there are themes about online identity: One way to retain and increase popularity, for example, is through increasingly extreme content.

It's when Khalfoun segues into horror that his grip on the high concept starts to loosen. Visually the ideas are still there, and there are some half decent sub-Lynchian dream-states. But Khalfoun's attempts at melding fantasy and reality – thus supposedly drawing us into Josh's mental decline – come across as annoyingly muddled more than devilishly ambiguous.

Josh himself is well played by Watkins, who in his gawkiness and intensity reminds me of a younger Adrien Brody. It's a classic case of a lead character whom we may not like as such but with whom we can empathise, and a large part of this is thanks to Watkins' performance, which has nuance and range.

I was slightly disappointed by the visualisation of the app itself. For something so supposedly cutting edge it looks distinctly cheap and 2000s. Which brings me to a unique added "bonus": You can actually download the i-Lived app to your smartphone, which pings you pop-ups throughout the film. It's an idea which is both neat and alarming; a gimmick specific to this film, one hopes, rather than the future of movie-watching.

Perhaps you may feel that i-Lived is worth it simply for this innovative feature. But aside from that, it's a solidly entertaining movie which manages to be both very relevant (in its subject matter) whilst also niche (in its structure and style). Its black humour may not be for everyone, and the drift into surrealism definitely won't be for everyone. But as far as the tech-horror movement goes, it's a fine entry into the canon.

I was a bit skeptical, due to low ratings,but decided to watch as I thought the storyline was interesting. It did not disappoint a bit! The story is unique, the main character is fun to watch as he seems real. We haven't had movies with similar stories for a while and I definitely found this one very interesting.

Acting was pretty good too. Maybe not the best,but I've seen much much worse so this was also a plus for the movie.

I also liked the camera work. It was slightly different than usual. It almost seemed "modern" and new. Not sure if that makes sense.

Overall, I was impressed and I think this movie deserves a really good scores. Certainly there are many blockbusters that don't even have 1/10th of what this movie has. Though I guess in this day and age, people want action and don't want to think and this story makes you think about your actions and consequences.

Cool concept, terrible execution.

Bad acting.

Bad cinematics.

Bad sound direction.

Bad atmosphere.

Just Bad Overall.

Nothing more to say. Don't waste your time.

Youtubers don't act like that.

2/10.

'i-Lived' is a cyber-psychological thriller with minimal shades of gore-horror. The story centers around Josh (Jeremiah Watkins), a tech vlogger who specializes in app reviews. As part of his routine, he comes across a self-help app called 'i-Lived' that asks its users to input the issues and problems that they face, for which remedies are provided in the form of a series of pop-up tasks.

First things first, this isn't the first movie that tries to showcase the apparent monstrosities hidden in the internet world. Therefore, the narrative treatment at the very least needed to be newfangled. Does 'i-Lived' keep its end of the bargain on that front? A resounding NO! 'Nerve' is a similar movie that has, to an extent, emerged a triumph in terms of crafting of visuals and character establishment (I think it's definitely 'watchable' even with its sugary connotations). The language-style (and gimmicks) used for the vlog recordings doesn't suit a tech-reviewer at all (forget professional, not even freelance!). Josh walks and talks like a high-on-energy-drink stand-up comedian in his videos, while he's more of an introvert (or ambivert) in reality.

Every little aspect in the movie has an artificial quality to it. The app, which is supposed to be the 'next big thing' in the tech world, has a shabby design and looks dated. The notion of smart- phone users never going through license agreements during installation and usage of these apps (and blindly click 'Yes to all') is stemmed from remarkable thinking (and I wish that had been put to the test more!). Unlike Josh's unfunny puns in his videos, the real fun begins when he starts to accomplish those unusual tasks set against the requests that he makes in the app. Josh soon beds a wealthy + goodlooking chick by the name of Greta (Sarah Power); his online following displays a marked growth; he lands a job with a large tech conglomerate; his sick mom miraculously shows improvement - all with the supposed help of the app.

None of the characters other than Josh are fully developed - in fact, some of them seem like tools placed deliberately into the film to complement the tasks required to be done, as per the app. Greta turns out to be mere eye-candy throughout, although one'd expect her character to be focal to the proceedings. Nope, never happens. Even the Filipino friend: the relevance of this character is by and large, minimal. Things go steadily downhill when Khalfoun lends the latter half of the movie a ghastly flavor. The thrills offered are barely enough, the horror almost absent (where's the creepiness? hint: 'Unfriended'). A couple of dream sequences sought to intrigue but even they didn't leave the lasting impression that they should have.

The message the film tries to convey is all too relevant for the current generation but it's the sloppy execution that acts as buzz- kill. The shock value and stakes for the characters needed to be a lot higher than what's unveiled in 'i-Lived'.

Verdict: Disappointing!

The concept of this film seemed interesting to me and relevant enough when looking at today's modern society. A restyling of the old Faust story, as it were. A modern appearance with a raised, pedantic finger at the way some experience their social life nowadays. Unfortunately, it really wasn't creepy enough to call it a horror. The images shown weren't demonic, but the subtle underlying message was. It's not that we are signing a pact with the devil when we create a Facebook account or a Twitter account. Or when you install an app on your smart-phone that tells you when it's time to get some calories or finally have a decent meal, and periodically warns you when it's time to go to the bathroom. But some individuals their lives are so controlled by these social media, that it looks as if they really signed something.

Similarly Josh Fosse (Jeremiah Watkins). A nerdy twenty something whose girlfriend left him for a probably more social type of guy and who's not able to pay his bills due to the lack of a decent job. The only thing he spends his time with is chasing away or hiding for the landlady and maintaining a video blog where he tests new apps and gives it a score. Until one day he discovers the I-Lived app and uploads it to his smart-phone. It's a simple app that asks for your wishes and after you've completed certain tasks, these wishes will also be fulfilled. Well, you don't have to be an Einstein to know where this is going.

The beginning of this film was quite pubertal and sometimes even annoying. First you have to undergo a series of these video messages. Apparently Watkins is a pretty notorious comedian. He was already the funniest at home while walking around in diapers they say. But to be honest I didn't think it was that hilarious after all. Even a laugh track wouldn't have helped. Until the moment I-Lived (And for those who haven't figured it out yet : try reading the film title backwards) starts defining his life. Then there are some hilarious moments. They look rather slapstick-like but they are still funny enough to give this film a second chance. But by the time it all gets a bit darker and Josh starts realizing there are sinister forces at work, it's all a little too predictable plus boring and it's certainly not creepy.

Anyway, I thought the part about the User Agreement was cleverly thought up. Who reads those legal gibberish anyway before installing some software? Without a doubt hardly anyone. This was for sure an admonishing message. But beyond this subtlety it was widely annoyance being demonstrated with clockwork regularity. The first thing that struck me was the fact that most people knew their way there very well. Or perhaps nobody else is driving around there on the streets. Because you should take a close look at how long Josh's friend and girlfriend aren't paying attention while driving. I thought that was terrifyingly long. Then the app-reviews, which are presented all the time in a kind of YouTube manner, started to nerve me severely. The content was quite alright, but the recurring gimmicks in these videos were a bit too much. And at last the ultimate task that Josh must perform, wasn't that convincing and thought provoking. It 's not as sinister or insane as in "13 Sins" for example. Josh Fosse isn't really an acting miracle but fortunately all other actors their performances were of a questionable level, so in the end Josh's acting stood out in a way. Fortunately for him. The only sublime part in the whole movie was the connection between the first fragment and the last fragment. Unfortunately, the rest of the film wasn't as radical as the end.

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