Nightmare Code (2015)

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Nightmare CodeStarring Andrew J. West, Mei Melancon, Googy Gress

Directed by Mark Netter


I was running somewhat of a horror drought recently, having scoured far and wide for something to hold my interest, and just when I thought that the streak would reach yet another damned day, I came upon Mark Netter’s dark sci-fi tinged thriller Nightmare Code, and for a short while, hope has been tentatively restored.

Set against a backdrop that will make any computer geek backflip with joy, the film follows programmer Brett Desmond (West), a hired gun if you will in the world of mainframe engineering. He’s recruited to work for a software company as a reliever’s role, due to the last desk jockey (Gress) flipping out and murdering a bunch of his co-workers. To say that Desmond’s back history is a little “sketchy” would be a colossal understatement, and his work on the ROPER program will not only allow a user to correctly identify human emotions (pretty scary stuff) but also, just by analyzing someone’s body language, get an intrusive peek at future events.

Now, while this certainly might not appeal to every hard-searching fan for a new byte on horror (sorry – bad play on words), it is a refreshing viewpoint, and with the quad-box take on display, your eyes are constantly scanning the screen for any and all information – nice looks if you’re willing to eyeball them.

The audience is treated to a plethora of differing camera angles. POV shots, and other clever uses of perspective to interpret the story – some work, some don’t, and in all of the film’s inanity, we see a transformation of Desmond’s character that can border on the fringes of complete insanity – but the question remains, was he always a total looney-tune, or is it the overwhelming obsession with the ROPER program that’s causing his mind to bend at an alarming rate? What makes this film work to such an extent is the foreboding feeling that this is something that could potentially be in the works in a computer lab somewhere in the world. I mean, for Granny’s sake, we’ve got every piece of electronic equipment already thinking for us as we mindlessly bumble on down the street, faces buried in cell phones or tablets, allowing them to make our decisions for us – who’s to say that the next big step hasn’t already been taken? That’s what Netter is trying to breach here with Nightmare Code, and aside from the story itself, the film serves as a sort of warning to where we could potentially be heading. Entertaining to all? Probably not. Entertaining to some? Absolutely.

Overall, I could definitely recommend this to anyone who wants an entertaining look at the idea of technology completely grabbing hold of the collective’s mindset and using it for surely evil actions, and it at least warrants a peek. Give it a look, and think twice about the next time you want to bash your fists off of your keyboard when your laptop is lagging… these things apparently have feelings now!

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User Rating 3.59 (17 votes)
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