No_Filter (2022) Review – A Stilted and Cliched Social Media Slasher
#No_Filter: Quick Verdict
The Verdict: A formulaic and structurally messy slasher that fails to find its own identity amidst a sea of social media horror clones. #No_Filter is severely hindered by a stilted script and a multi-national cast struggling with unconvincing American accents, which frequently pulls the viewer out of the experience. While it offers a few satisfyingly grisly kills and a decent amount of body horror in its final act, the journey there is padded with repetitive dialogue and tired post-2000s tropes.
Hannah McIver provides a spark of energy as the movie descends into madness, but she is let down by a plot that feels cobbled together and scares that occasionally border on the unintentional comedy. It is a 2 star effort that functions as an undemanding “sleepover horror” for a younger audience, but it lacks the nuance or innovation required to stand out to seasoned genre fans. If you want a sharp critique of influencer culture, you won’t find it here; this is basic, entry-level horror with very few filters for quality control.
Details: Director: Michael Dupret | Cast: Hannah McIver, Jasmine Daoud, Priya Blackburn, Janis Ahern | Runtime: 1h 25m | Release Date: 2022
Best for: Teenagers looking for an easy, reactive horror experience and fans of influencer-themed slashers who don’t mind a lack of logic.
Worth noting: The film was produced by a Belgian crew, which explains the linguistic disconnect and the awkward “American” setting that feels distinctly European in its execution.
Where to Watch: Tubi (Free), Amazon Prime Video
Rating: 2/5 Stars
(Decent body horror and kills, but let down by stilted dialogue, bad accents, and a messy narrative.)
Welcome to Knockout Horror, today we are reviewing #No_Filter from 2022.
Highlights
What’s with those accents?
Following the story of popular social media influencer AnnaWithA-A, #No_Filter sees our online celebrity starting a trend among her followers and school friends of sharing scary prank videos. Little realising that the carnage will soon become all too real.
“This is very clearly a script written and edited by non-native English speakers. It is basic beyond belief and much of the dialogue feels extremely awkward.”
I know it is a weird place to start a review but I gotta ask what is with those accents? This is very clearly a script written and edited by non-native English speakers. It is basic beyond belief and much of the dialogue feels extremely awkward. Rarely flowing naturally and never feeling particularly organic.
This isn’t helped by a group of non-American actors putting on fake American accents throughout. Why is this such a thing in horror? I don’t get it! Either hire actors from the US or set the movie elsewhere. Are people so scared of including broken English or subtitles? Even British movies do it far too much.
There appears to be a mix of English, French and Belgian actors here all doing their very best to sound absolutely nothing like an actual resident of the USA. It’s extremely bad! Hannah Mciver, as Anna, does the best job but still slips up often with the rest of the cast falling at nearly every hurdle. Jasmine Daoud deserves special mention for how bad her accent sound, undermining every scene she is in.
Boring horror tropes
The horror here comes by way of digging blindly into the endless bucket of post-2000s horror tropes. Scary text messages sent by an unknown person, videos shared of people being murdered, social media posts that may or may not be pranks. Reflections in the mirror acting suspiciously.
“One scare featuring a family photo coming to life is nothing short of pure comedy gold. #No_Filter often drops the ball, looking ridiculous rather than creepy.”
It’s all ultra-familiar and it has all been done before. Unfortunately, for many of its scares, #No_Filter really drops the ball. It is guilty of a number of poorly conceived scares that end up looking ridiculous rather than creepy. One, in particular, that features a photo of Anna with her family coming to life is nothing short of pure comedy gold.
The way #No_Filter delivers the scares feels extremely messy. It is almost confused, as if the writer was heading one way with the story before deciding to go another. There is a distinctly disordered feeling to the way things play out, leading to the amp up in severity, seemingly, coming from nowhere. And the explanation for events feeling unsatisfying and rather cobbled together, too.
We get a vague explanation for why the shit hits the fan but, beyond that, little else. Just an excuse for mayhem and a fair bit of gore. On the positive side, #No_Filter does feature some fairly satisfying kills. There is a little bit of body horror here, as well, that doesn’t look great but could provoke a few moments of teeth gritting. There is, also, a decent helping of suspense towards the latter stages of the movie and a couple of satisfying scenes of Hannah Mciver clearly enjoying herself being an absolute lunatic. Things pick up a bit but it feels a bit too little a bit too late.
A satisfactory sleepover horror
I think many of the elements of #No_Filter that don’t work are purely down to target audience. This almost feels like a “my first sleepover horror”. It has a lot of stuff that younger people will relate to, the violence can be comedic at times and there is a distinct feeling that this movie is aimed at teens. It has all the elements of a horror made purely to provoke reactions, be they grimaces or cries of “look out behind you”. It’s all pretty basic stuff and would fit fairly well in the middle of a rotation of horror movies and comedies.
For anyone looking for something to really get their teeth into, this just isn’t it. No_Filter just doesn’t have a tremendous amount to offer outside of overly familiar horror tropes and obnoxious social media related stuff. It goes off in a number of directions that don’t work or, indeed, don’t go anywhere. It seems a bit lost at times and it borrows fairly heavily from other similar movies. If you are under 20 and looking for an easy horror, though, this may be for you. It helps that there are a couple of genuinely funny, low brow, laughs here and there.
Acting is mixed
This movie suffers in a fairly big way for its multi-national cast being forced to use American accents. Barely anyone manages it successfully. I complained about this with Shark Bait and a few other movies that do the same. It almost never works and someone will slip up. I noticed straight away with #No_Filter. Aside from that, performances are a bit mixed. Hannah Mciver obviously had fun here. She does a good job for the most part and she gets better as the movie goes on.
Jasmine Daoud, as Anna’s friend Lauren, struggles mightily with her accent. It frequently slips making her sound like she is from the middle of nowhere. This really undermines her performance at times; she is fine for the most part, though.
“This is a very run-of-the-mill horror movie. Young people may enjoy it as a sleepover horror, but everyone else will be left wanting more.”
One of few actually American actors in the film, I enjoyed Janis Ahern as Susan. She really made me laugh in a super brief role. Samuel Van der Zwalmen is also okay in another brief role as influencer Scare_Scott. Priya Blackburn, as Mina, seemed to have more to offer than her role afforded. I would have liked to have seen more of her.
The actors here really suffer from the writing which is extremely basic and not at all organic. Michael Dupret has a tendency to have his characters repeating themselves which makes them sound pretty gormless and stupid. Direction is okay but I think #No_Filter runs way too long. The beginning stages are massively padded. There isn’t much meat on this story and much of what happens is without consequence.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good
- The Kills: There are some genuinely creative and visceral deaths in the latter stages of the film that provide a needed energy boost.
- Hannah McIver: Despite the weak script, McIver commits to her role and is clearly having a fantastic time playing a character on the edge of sanity.
- Body Horror: The film includes some effective moments of practical body horror that will satisfy gore-hounds looking for a visceral reaction.
The Bad
- Stilted Accents: The attempt to force non-American actors into US personas results in distracting, uneven performances that undermine the drama.
- Repetitive Writing: Characters frequently repeat themselves, leading to a narrative that feels padded and often boring.
- Messy Pacing: The film takes a long time to get started, with a first act that feels bloated and devoid of actual consequence.
The Ugly: The “Family Photo” Scare. A poorly executed CGI moment that is intended to be terrifying but ends up being the most unintentionally hilarious scene in the movie.
Should You Watch #No_Filter?
If you are under 20 and want an undemanding movie for a sleepover, it will probably do the job. It is a 2 star horror that offers the bare minimum of entertainment. However, if you are looking for a well-acted thriller with a cohesive story, look elsewhere. It is exactly what you would expect from a low-budget social media slasher: stilted, predictable, and ultimately forgettable. Just another face in the digital crowd.
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