Shook (2021) Shudder Movie Review

Shook – Searching for Likes

Director: Jennifer Harrington

Writer: Jennifer Harrington (Screenplay) Alesia Glidewell (Story)

Starring: Daisye Tutor, Nicola Posener, Grant Rosenmeyer, Emily Goss, Octavius J Johnson, Stephanie Simbari

Plot: When Mia, a social media star, becomes the target of an online terror campaign, she has to solve a series of games to prevent people she cares about from getting murdered. But is it real. Or is it just a game at her expense.

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Shook starts in the world of LA where a dog killer is targeting social media stars, now he has taken a human life of a social media star. Mia (Tutor) one of a famous group of social media stars decides to give up a party in respect of their fallen friend to care for her sister Nicole’s (Goss) dog.

Mia’s night takes a turn for the worse when she starts getting phone calls from stranger, putting her through twisted games of choice, but is it real, or just her friends looking for more followers.

Thoughts on Shook

Characters & Performances – Mia is the big-time social media star who has a tight group who collaborate with her, after losing one of their own, she decides to avoid the party life for a weekend. She finds herself dealing with a mystery caller that is putting her through a series of choices, each becoming deadlier through the night. She has been through a lot in recent years, with her mother suffering through a disease, one that saw her avoid being involved too much. Daisye Tutor does bring this reality to star to life, showing the shallow side of her life, while bringing the emotional withdrawnness of her character out more than the rest of the cast. When it comes to the rest of the cast, we get to meet the other social media stars who are all desperate to gain followers, they are living in the fantasy live of social media fame. We mostly meet them on camera, through calls with Mia through the time of the film, not giving anyone a chance to shine.

Story – The story here follows a social media star taking a weekend out of the spotlight, only to find herself in the middle of a sick twisted game around the neighbourhood, putting her through a series of events. This is a story that does follow one person put through a series of events, teasing whether they are real or not, which does end up being the downfall of the story’s strength. We get set up a lot of early on things, including a dog killer being a major part of everything going on, which gets dropped without blinking, making the opening sequence almost pointless. The story does have plenty of messages about social media, from not hiding your true self behind a persona, taking time off for family and there are limits that shouldn’t be crossed.

Themes – Shook is a horror film that uses the singular location and the music to give us a real slasher vibe, with Mia being tormented by the killer. When it comes to the blood and gore levels, everything seems tame and not a graphic as the incidents suggest they will be.