Hashtag Horror
A social media game spirals into murder.
#Horror (pronounced "hashtag horror") is a 2015 American slasher film written and directed by Tara Subkoff. The story centers on a group of wealthy seventh-grade girls whose social media game turns deadly, leading to a night of terror and murder. The film debuted at the New York City Horror Film Festival on November 12, 2015, and received a limited theatrical release plus video on demand on November 20, 2015, through IFC Midnight. Critical response was mixed.
The plot begins with Harry Cox, who is killed along with his mistress Lisa after a phone argument with his wife Alex. Twelve-year-old Sam attends a sleepover at wealthy classmate Sofia Cox's Connecticut mansion, where she feels out of place among the privileged girls: Sofia, Francesca, Ava, and Georgie. Another girl, Cat White, arrives with her father Dr. White; Cat has a history of psychological issues and bullying. The girls post photos on social media during a pretend fashion show, then Alex lets them into her walk-in safe filled with jewelry and clothes before leaving for a twelve-step meeting.
As the night progresses, the girls argue over their phones. Cat taunts Georgie about her weight, and Sofia forces Cat to leave. Cat goes into the woods, tries to call her father, and begins tagging Georgie in cruel Facebook photos. The other girls lock their phones in the safe to escape Cat's cyberbullying, and Sofia throws the safe key into the pool. Dr. White returns after receiving a frantic voicemail from Cat, interrogates the girls, and scares them; Ava runs away. He threatens to press charges. Sam searches the woods, finds Harry's blood-smeared car, but the others don't believe her. Georgie and Francesca tease Sofia about her mother's alleged affair with Dr. White, and Sofia leaves. In the woods, she finds her father's corpse in his car, calls her mother Alex—who angrily rants about Harry's cheating and hangs up—then takes a revolver and flees. Sam finds Ava's body and is attacked by a masked figure. She retrieves the safe key from the pool. Georgie and Francesca are killed, their deaths streamed online. Sam opens the safe, is attacked again, and locks herself inside. On her phone, she sees photos and videos of the murders posted by Cat. Dr. White returns, finds Georgie's body, and Sam tells him Cat is the killer. Cat unmasks herself. Believing Dr. White murdered her father, Sofia shoots him dead.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Tara Subkoff
- Producer
- Tara Subkoff / Oren Segal / Brendan Walsh / Jason Ludman
- Starring
- Chloë Sevigny / Timothy Hutton / Natasha Lyonne / Balthazar Getty / Taryn Manning / Stella Schnabel
- Music
- EMA
- Cinematography
- Learan Kahanov
- Editing
- Catrin Hedstrom
- Production Companies
- Gaslight Films / Lowland Pictures
- Distributor
- IFC Midnight
- Released
- 12 November 2015 · New York Horror Film Festival · 2015 · 11 · 20 · U.S.
- Runtime
- 97 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film was inspired by a conversation Subkoff had with a friend's daughter who had been cyberbullied. Subkoff stated that the idea began when she asked the girl, "What is horror, to you?" and learned that for many young people, bullying that follows them home is a modern horror. Subkoff aimed to mix a modern version of a multi-layered genre film with a story about something horrible happening to teenagers that had never happened before. The film was shot in upstate New York and Connecticut over eighteen days during the winter of 2015, with Subkoff describing the shoot as difficult due to harsh weather. Prior to filming, she spent weeks doing acting workshops and improvisation exercises with the young cast. The house used in the film is located in Bedford, New York. Subkoff spent nearly seven months editing the film with editors Janice Hampton and Catrin Hedstrom, and the animated sequences were designed by artist Tabor Robak.
Reader's Guide
The film explores the theme of self-surveillance through documenting life on social media, which film critic Hannah Bonner notes "does not lead to autonomy or control of one's self, but to violence and death." Subkoff described the overarching theme as "cultural narcissism, and how it affects these young women who are killing themselves over being cyberbullied." The film's soundtrack, titled #Horror: Original Score by EMA, was released via digital download on December 11, 2015, by Matador Records. The film was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival Cannes Market section in May 2015, with Subkoff staging an anti-bullying protest outside the event. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Scream Factory on April 5, 2016. Critical reception was mixed: on Rotten Tomatoes, 46% of 12 critics' reviews were positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10; Metacritic assigned a score of 42 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Did You Know?
- The film was shot over eighteen days during the winter of 2015 in upstate New York and Connecticut.
- The soundtrack features an original score by EMA, released on December 11, 2015, by Matador Records.
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