Computer operating systems have become so commonplace that they’re now the latest destination in movie settings. The sub-genre known as screenlife takes place entirely in a computer environment, where app windows and social media messages are the set dressing. It’s a realm we occupy most, so it’s natural to see these digital environments reflected on the big screen.
With the prevalence of this new subgenre, there are many angles to explore. This relatively new means of telling stories can evoke science fiction, horror, mystery, and even touching drama. For those glued to their screens, these are the best films based entirely within an operating system.
10
Spree
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Release Year |
2020 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 33 minutes |
Video streaming on the go becomes the format for the social media horror of Spree. Kurt Kunkle is a social media star who is fading fast as he becomes desperate for views amid his rideshare job that he records for his channel. Jealous of the success of others, Kurt proceeds to murder others for attention in hopes of being a killer viral celebrity.
Spree dabbles in satirizing online streaming that consumes those who want the most subscribers. Framed entirely through smartphones and computer desktops, the constant need to record everything makes this staging believable and terrifying. The film even manages to be funny amid its internet obsession, where Kurt’s lifestyle leads to several dead ends, and even those who want to get away from it still find themselves enticed by the digital spotlight.
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Spree depicts the life of a streamer so desperate for fame that he’s willing to kill for it.
9
Share?
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Release Year |
2023 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 20 minutes |
Share begins with a man awakening in a prison cell with nothing. His only connection to the world is through his computer, which connects everybody in this dystopian world. It’s also the only way to survive, where entertainment on the screen is the only way to keep alive in real life.
Staying true to the claustrophobic setting, Share never leaves the trapped room of the unfortunate protagonist, where his contacts are made through picture-in-picture windows. The relatable dystopian angle is astutely explored to highlight how employment has grown so terrible that many resort to online content creation to eat. Director Ira Rosensweig has crafted a film that combines the chilling isolation of The Platform, the desperation of Squid Game, and the real-life terror of online streaming.
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Share? takes place in a dystopian future where imprisoned people must become digital entertainers to survive.
8
Livescreamers
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Release Year |
2023 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 30 minutes |
For what sounds like a pun made by The Cryptkeeper, Livescreamers is a screenlife horror that takes aim at video game content creators. The most popular streamers of this format assemble to stream a multiplayer game that turns out to be haunted. With the game killing them in reality, the streamers are forced to work together before this video game becomes their last.
Livescreamers comes off as more genuine thanks to director Michelle Iannantuono’s experience as a streaming gamer. He draws from not only the mechanics of this profession but also the mentality that comes with making money in online spaces. While this isn’t the first film to adopt the familiar scenario of “you die in the game, you die for real,” it taps more into the streaming culture that surrounds video games to stage a more competent horror picture.
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3
Livescreamers will terrify you with its story of a haunted multiplayer video game.
7
Open Windows
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Release Year |
2014 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 40 minutes |
Fandom takes a dark route in Open Windows, when the obsessed fan Nick (Elijah Wood) gets a chance to meet his favorite actress, Jill (Sasha Grey). But when the contest for this meeting is canceled, he’s given the opportunity to hack into her computer and phone through her campaign manager. With a chance to ruin Jill’s life, Nick proceeds down a dark path beyond cyberstalking.
Open Windows is the most twisty screenlife movie, considering the layers of impersonation and the constant camera pulling back to reveal several monitoring applications. There’s a constant level of paranoia parading through every scene that makes the stalking fan scenario far more strange and uncomfortable. Director Nacho Vigalondo toys with the concept of screenlife films fairly, considering how early the sub-genre started.
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Open Windows follows an obsessive fan stalking his favorite celebrity with a twisty web of digital surprises.
6
Unfriended: Dark Web
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Release Year |
2018 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 33 minutes |
As the sequel to Unfriended, another screenlife film, Dark Web was more fascinating for its exploration of the internet’s darkest corners. Six friends happened upon a laptop that contained disturbing videos. But they get in too deep when a mysterious strangers messages them not to disconnect or call the police, as they’re forced to take part in a cruel game of death.
While Unfriended had its clever moments of horror amid a Skype call, Dark Web makes better use of the screenlife format for all the clever ways the victims are tortured. At one point, a deepfake is used to convince the police that one of the victims is going to assault a shopping mall, leading to a swatting situation with police gunning down the poor user. It’s a film that presents our darkest fears made reality within online spaces where it seems more possible than fantastical.
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3
Unfriended: Dark Web will make you rethink that upcoming video call.
5
C U Soon
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Release Year |
2020 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 38 minutes |
Love is found online when Jimmy meets Anu through an online dating website. While Jimmy intends to marry this woman, his family is uncertain about this marriage. When Jimmy’s cousin, Kevin, a cybersecurity specialist, goes digging up info on Anu, dark criminal secrets are revealed in this mysterious screenlife thriller.
C U Soon manages to keep pace with an astute audience, especially for being released during the pandemic, where everyone knew the screens they occupied. The story also feels more socially relevant when presenting a scenario concerned with online dating, rumors, and concealed identities. A film like this could fall apart if not for the skillful direction of Mahesh Narayanan, making the movie both technologically astute and expertly acted.
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3
C U Soon is a cyber thriller that centers around a marriage made online with a woman that a family doesn’t trust.
4
Host
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Release Year |
2020 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 5 minutes |
Host takes place amid the COVID-19 pandemic as six friends try to find something fun to do over Zoom. They get involved with a virtual séance that works and summons a demon. Now terrorized by this supernatural force, they must figure out how to defeat this demon or suffer a painful demise amid their Zoom call.
It was clever to stage a film like Host during lockdown, and the film holds up well enough on its own despite the limitations of filming during a pandemic. With each actor contributing their makeup and stunts to this film, it’s genuinely exciting to see how they come together to bring this horror at home to life. For all the movies and TV shows attempted during the pandemic while we were locked into the digital world, this is one of the most clever and compelling.
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Host is a horror film where six friends try to survive the torture of a demon they summon while online.
3
Missing
|
Release Year |
2023 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 51 minutes |
In Missing, June (Storm Reid) is a teenager who hopes for a fun time at home when her mother goes on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend. While enjoying having the house to herself, she grows fearful when her mother disappears. Through online profiles and detective work, June tries to figure out what happened to her mom in a twisty conspiracy.
Watching a teenager go from being a social media maven to a cyber sleuth was exciting, proving that the next generation is capable enough with tech. The investigation itself is pretty clever with how much stranger it becomes and how abduction comes into play while keeping the computer screen format. It’s a stellar usage of screenlife that a film seen entirely from a computer desktop can naturally feature kidnappings and stabbings.
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Missing follows a teenager trying to track down her missing mom through digital clues.
2
Searching
|
Release Year |
2018 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 42 minutes |
David Kim (John Cho) experiences every parent’s worst fear when his teenage daughter disappears without a trace. With the police unable to help, David digs into his daughter’s laptop for answers. As he digs through his daughter’s online presence, he slowly peels back the layers of her life for any clues that will reunite him with his daughter.
Searching makes for a compelling investigation, giving the audience the POV of David’s search for the truth. The film solves the problem that often comes with computer research by trying to stage this common practice as dramatic. Given how familiar we’ve become with researching through our interface, being placed in the same seat as David effectively makes us feel his plight while also presenting a densely engaging mystery thriller.
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3
John Cho stars in this story about a man whose daughter disappears, and he uses her laptop to solve the mystery.
1
Language Lessons
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Release Year |
2021 |
|---|---|
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Runtime |
1 hour 31 minutes |
Not all screenlife movies have to be terrifying thrillers or horror, and Language Lessons is a perfect example of how it can be used for meaningful drama. The film centers around a blossoming relationship between Spanish instructor Cariño (Natalie Morales) and her student, Adam (Mark Duplass). While Adam is reluctant to take on these lessons he didn’t initially agree to, he becomes more engrossed in learning Spanish when tragedy befalls him.
With Natalie Morales (Plan B) additionally directing and Mark Duplass (Creep) co-writing, Language Lessons is surprisingly heartfelt for its emotionally moving story conceived during lockdown. The friendship angle is refreshing, and there’s a genuine nature to the performances of Morales and Duplass that comes through surprisingly well for being on different screens. It’s easy to recommend this film as being the best of screenlife movies for highlighting the importance of human connection rather than the darkness of technology we often harp upon.
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Language Lessons tells the story of a friendship that develops over Spanish lessons online.
While some of these films were inspired by our reliance on technology during the COVID-19 lockdown, there’s no denying how the digital space has become an environment we occupy most. We’ll likely spend a lot of time in this environment and, given that, we’ll probably see more films like these. Hopefully, there’s more to explore in this sub-genre besides spooky demons in the chat or crimes committed over Zoom.
