Screen Testing

Ep 5: Nerve


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Are you a watcher or a player? We're joined by Gem Hill to discuss last year's teen psychological thriller, Nerve. It's a deadly (and somewhat cheesy) technological game of truth or dare, available to stream now on Netflix.

We discuss the game within the movie, the weird pockets of fame within social media, teen cliques, and how effectively the film manages its portrayal of hackers, the dark web and open-source software.

We also deal with our usual array of distractions, including the unusual pricing/prize structure of Nerve, whether the game could truly run without servers, teenagers' password security, Neil's unlikely crush on Dave Franco, the difference between literal and metaphor, and how not to get a tattoo.

Also, we forget to mention that Dave Franco's character is named Ian, so when we suddenly start talking about Ian halfway through, that's what's going on!

References:

  • Neil's review of Nerve on Letterboxd
  • Neil's seven(!) pages of plot notes
  • YouTube: Unfriended trailer (movie entirely shot through a Macbook)
  • Zed Attack Proxy's AJAX Spider plugin
  • YouTube: Compilation of hacking scenes from Mr Robot (not too spoilery)
  • YouTube: Nerve diner scene 
  • YouTube: Dick and Dom - Bogies (sigh)
  • YouTube: Opening scene of The Shallows (with its similar phone overlays) 
  • MTV.com: "Nerve directors reveal the voyeuristic dare that was too 'gross' for PG-13"

Songs from the soundtrack featured in the episode (in order of appearance):

  • Basenji - Can't Get Enough
  • MØ - Kamikaze
  • The Skyliners - Since I Don't Have You
  • Roy Orbison - You Got It
  • BØRNS - Electric Love
  • Lowell - Ride (feat. Icona Pop)

In our next episode we'll be continuing our dive into the world of hacking in movies, as we discuss 2001's SWORDFISH with Mark Winteringham!

Twitters: @Gem_Hill @ScreenTesting @TheTestDoctor @neilstudd

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Screen TestingBy Neil Studd and Dan Billing