Like Me
Written & Directed by Robert Mockler
Released on January 26, 2017
A neon-drenched thriller, Like Me follows Kaya (Addison Timlin), a loner and YouTube vlogger on a crime spree. Egged on by her followers, she broadcasts her cross-country rampage on social media, hoping to amass “likes.” Fueled by drugs and junkfood, Kaya’s erratic junket spirals into ever increasing violence,
Written and directed by Robert Mockler, Like Me is a horror film that explores isolation in the age of digital connectivity. Kaya’s character exists in a virtual reality of her own making. Like a Vine or YouTube sensation, she lacks development, and her motive—internet fame—seems disproportionate to the severity of her actions. Yet, it’s the possibility that anyone can be pushed to the edge in pursuit of viral success and the belonging it brings that drives the film. Kaya’s gender also complicates the audience’s response to her often sexual, violent crimes, allowing us to let out a disgusted, but satisfied gasp when she preys only on (mostly terrible) men.
At times nausea inducing, Like Me, is not for the faint of eyes and stomachs. But, like watching a car crash, it’s hard to look away from the film’s psychedelic, tilt-a-whirl visuals. 3/5
top photo from Like Me
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