In the past few years, there's been a rise of movies taking place fully on a computer screen with the audience as the hapless voyeurs—Searching and the continually underrated Unfriended come to mind. However, what's most fascinating about Tingle Monsters, a new short film from director Alexandra Serio—she also stars, is how much it feels like an actual ASMR video. Though the two films I mentioned require some suspension of disbelief, Tingle Monsters is as straightforward as they come.
The movie is made to look like an actual livestream of an ASMR vlogger. ASMR or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is the experience of euphoria characterized by positive feelings and a tingling of the skin most commonly triggered by auditory or visual stimuli. ASMR vloggers use this stimuli to help relax their viewers or ease anxiety—though some may find it anxiety-inducing.
💌 Sign up for our weekly email newsletter with movie recommendations available to stream.
ADVERTISEMENT
ASMR has taken YouTube by storm with new channels popping up everyday garnering millions of views. However, it's also created its own culture bubble anchored by the often hyper-sexualization of women in the internet world. As we watch the vlogger Dee (Serio) begin her live stream, comments in the live chat ranging from support to sexual harassment to threats pop up, causing her to turn off the chat. When the actual horror of the piece begins, after a glorious slow build that made me want to look away but also transfixed me on the screen, the comments begin to range from genuine worry—mirroring the real attachment some people have to their internet personalities to cynical dismissiveness of the situation.
The story shows incredible restraint, ratcheting the tension up to an almost uncomfortable degree before finally giving us release. As the helpless viewers, the loss of control is as horrifying as the actual event. If anything, that's what great horror is supposed to do—take away our control. As internet and YouTube culture becomes more engrained in our society, it's only natural that our storytelling begins to encompass it. Tingle Monsters is prescient in that trend and a devilishly fun short to boot.
Tingle Monsters is available to watch for free here.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hey! I'm Karl. You can find me on Twitter here. I'm also a Tomatometer-approved critic.
💌 Sign up for our weekly email newsletter with movie recommendations available to stream.
ADVERTISEMENT
💌 Sign up for our weekly email newsletter with movie recommendations available to stream.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wicked, the long-awaited adaptation of the smash Broadway musical, finally flies its way into theaters… Read More
No Other Land follows a Palestinian activist as he documents the destruction of his community… Read More
TIFF 2024 | The Life of Chuck follows an enigmatic man starting as a surrealist… Read More
A pair of young Mormon missionaries find themselves at the center of a sinister plot… Read More
Moving back and forth in their history, We Live In Time follows a couple through… Read More
While it begins as a cat-and-mouse thriller, Strange Darling evolves (and genre-bends) into a psychological… Read More
Leave a Comment