Review: Send exploitative '14 Cameras' to trash bin
Sequel to '13 Cameras' proves there should not be a '15 Cameras'
A nasty piece of exploitative trash, "14 Cameras" aims to do for Airbnb what "Jaws" did for the water.
Unfortunately, it's not skillful enough to skeeve out anyone about anything other than its own existence.
A group of five - mom, dad, their late high school, early college-aged son and daughter and the daughter's friend - head to a spacious New Mexico vacation home. The beyond-generic family is so bland they don't even deserve names; the film is only interested in family friend Danielle ("Legion's" Amber Midthunder), whose lightly seasoned bad girl traits give her at least a semblance of character.
What they don't know is that the house has been tricked out with spycams by its gross owner, Gerald (Neville Archambault), a cartoonishly creepy mouth breather who live streams their actions to the dark web, where anonymous users make bids on the guests' personal items, and sometimes the guests themselves.
Meanwhile, stored away in a secret lair are other women Gerald has captured and keeps for his personal pleasure. They try to escape, sometimes, but the film isn't particularly interested in them or their story.
Co-directors Seth Fuller and Scott Hussion seem to want to comment on voyeurism, but the film (which is actually a sequel to 2015's "13 Cameras") gets caught up in its own voyeurism, as evidenced by its context-free shots of women showering. Even "Sliver" had more guile.
And when it comes to those nasty corners of the internet, this month's "Unfriended: Dark Web" had a more cunning way about it. "14 Cameras" is simply a perv fantasy pretending to be something more than the icky piece of filmmaking that it is.
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'14 Cameras'
GRADE: D
Not rated: Adult situations, sexual situations, nudity, violence, torture
Running time: 90 minutes
14 Cameras (not rated)
A sick piece of exploitative trash about a family whose vacation is unknowingly being livestreamed via spycam to pervs on the dark web. GRADE: D