When strangers Jim, Eva, Emily and Mo meet William online in his new 'Chelsea Teens!' chatroom, they're completely seduced by his fast-talking, charismatic character. But beneath the surface lies a much darker truth. William is a dangerous loner, channeling all his energies into cyberspace. He's become an analyser, a calculating manipulator who finds it almost impossible to interact normally with others in the real world, instead turning his hand to manipulating people online.
Direction
Nakata stages chatrooms as physical spaces—bizarre, theatrical, unforgettable.
Acting
Aaron Taylor-Johnson's William is uncomfortably magnetic; you get why they fall for it.
Production
The retro-futuristic set design ages like milk in the best way possible.
Director
Hideo Nakata
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
William
Imogen Poots
Eva
Matthew Beard
Jim
Hannah Murray
Emily
Tuppence Middleton
Candy
Daniel Kaluuya
Mo
Megan Dodds
Grace
Michelle Fairley
Rosie
Nicholas Gleaves
Paul
Jacob Anderson
Si
Ophelia Lovibond
Charlotte
Richard Madden
Ripley
Matthew Ashforde
Jim's Father
Dorothy Atkinson
Emily’s Mother
Alex Blake
Man on Mobile Phone
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'chatrooms' were all built practical on soundstages—actors typed on real keyboards while their avatars moved in sync via motion-capture dots.
Released right as Facebook overtook MySpace, it already felt dated; now it's a time capsule of 'cyberbullying panic' cinema.
GB
