This movie is creepy and disturbing and it gave me an upset stomach - all in a good way. Rob, a high school sophomore attending a tony prep school in NY, is a total loner who watches random video clips online rather than making friends. His taste varies from cute baby clips to super violent porn.
He joins the audio - visual club and accidentally videos the overdose death of the school's most popular girls. In an effort to help him and help the school, the principal / headmaster decides Rob should work on the memorial video for the girls and their parents. That goes well. Rob's view of the world does not coincide with the view the school wants to present.
The school is chock full of drug users, drug dealers, rich kids with inside info about rules, and teachers who are more concerned about keeping the money rolling in than in what's going on. The continued shot of the kids lining up for their daily meds at the nurse's office is chilling. The headmaster in particular is a piece of work. Nevertheless, when he says that "We're all responsible for the death of the girls", he is more correct than anyone knows.
I would label this as suspense with a touch of horror. Plus it's a super dark teen flick. It is shot with a handheld camera most of the time, and much of it is what Rob captures in his role as audio - visual geek. The style totally works. This was the director's (Antonio Campos) first feature length film. He has another in post production now; I'm excited to see what he does for a follow-up.
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