10 Scariest Internet Horror Films
6. Ratter (2015)
In a world where smartphones and social
media are an intrinsic part of everyday life, the notion that they can be hijacked
by strangers is an unsettling thought, especially when this possibility is very
real.
This frightening premise is explored in Branden Kramer’s feature debut Ratter, a feature-length adaptation of the filmmaker’s short film Webcam. Premiering at Slamdance Film Festival in 2015, this film derives its title from malware that allows hackers to access and manipulate devices completely undetected.
This is the kind of insidious virus that graduate student Emma (Ashley Benson) falls victim to when she moves to Brooklyn to start a new life. What begins as receiving strange phone calls and messages from the ratter soon escalates to something more tangible when the perpetrator becomes a physical presence in Emma’s life, whether she notices them or not.
Like other entries on this list, Ratter is shot as if we were observing Emma through the screens of her devices, but what makes this film stand out is seeing how the hacker moves and manipulate the camera to fulfil their own twisted pleasures.
It’s majorly unsettling and will make you rush to cover your own webcam immediately after the credits roll.