Fantastic Fest 2018 Review: ‘CAM’
One of the most talked about films coming out of Fantastic Fest this year is CAM, and for good reason — it’s… well, fantastic.
CAM tells the story of Alice (Madeline Brewer), a talented camgirl climbing the ranks of online popularity under her alias Lola. After breaking into the top 50 performers on her site of choice, something strange happens – she can no longer log into her account, but a doppelganger is constantly live on her channel. The set looks identical, she looks identical, but this imposter (Lola2) is willing to go to extreme levels that Alice would never approach.
This well-paced mystery has a script lovingly written by Isa Mazzei (a former camgirl herself), which blends elements of drama, horror, and comedy to create one of the most compelling leads in horror history. It manages to handle the subject matter in a sincere way that never sexualizes any of the female leads. More importantly, the script also never vilifies these characters. In the hands of a less passionate writer this film could have easily become a morality tale, however Mazzei and director/cowriter Daniel Goldhaber stuck to their guns and the film is far better off for it.
It’s impossible not to talk about the incredible performance from Madeline Brewer. She may be familiar to fans of Orange is the New Black, Hemlock Grove and The Handmaid’s Tale, but her ability to juggle the multiple layers of Alice/Lola/Lola2 has made her destined to be the horror community’s new favorite leading lady. Brewer’s ability to disturb us as the scarily emotion-free Lola2 while winning our hearts as the lovable Alice is a feat few others could do. It’s through this performance that Alice becomes the most likable survivor girl since Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy Thompson.
CAM is a film the horror community didn’t know it needed. Look for it when it goes live on Netflix this November!
At Fantastic Fest, I had an opportunity to chat with CAM director Daniel Goldhaber, writer Isa Mazzei and actress Madeline Brewer. Listen below!
