Modern-day technology comes to life in Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s thriller Nerve.
High school senior Vee Delmonico (Emma Roberts) is tired of living in the shadow of her best friend Sydney (Emily Meade). However, this all changes when Sydney introduces Vee to Nerve, an online reality game similar to truth or dare.
Nerve is divided into two categories: watchers and players. Players are dared by the watchers to perform and film embarrassing or dangerous tasks.
The only way out for the players is to succeed, bail or fail.
Vee decides to try Nerve and is immediately dared to kiss a stranger. This dare leads her into an exciting partnership with fearless veteran player Ian (Dave Franco). Vee and Ian’s partnership quickly becomes popular among the watchers, but as their popularity increases, their dares only become harder.
Soon, Vee and Ian find themselves in the top 10 of all Nerve players, thanks to a series of difficult dares, but it all quickly becomes too much for Vee.
Freaked out by the intensity of the game, she reports the game to a police officer — going against the only rule Nerve enforces. Vee is now seen as a “snitch” to the watchers, and she is deemed a prisoner while all the money is taken out of her family’s bank account. The only way to win back her money and freedom is to win the entire game. Once she learns that Ian, too, is a prisoner, Vee sets out to win Nerve, but it may not be in the way the watchers expect.
I am usually not a fan of thrillers or action films, but Nerve is definitely an exception. The story line has depth, as opposed to merely relying on the action alone to keep viewers’ attention. Vee and Ian are strong protagonists, and interestingly, the antagonist is the game. This serves as a bold narrative on our technologically-driven society. Nerve focuses on people taking responsibility for what they post online, instead of hiding behind anonymous screen names.
I went into the movie screening with an expectation for a fun and thrilling story line, but I left with more than that. Nerve makes you think about technology, and how dangerous it can be when you disconnect your online persona from your conscience.