Nerve Review: 6 Ups & 5 Downs

Ups...

6. It's Smart & Timely

For all of its issues, Nerve is a refreshingly smart techno-thriller that has its finger on the pulse of modern technology trends and concerns. The fact that the movie revolves around live-streaming dares feels all-too-relevant in 2016 given the current popularity of services such as Periscope and Facebook Live. This helps the film feel relatively grounded (for a time, anyway) when, a few years ago, it might not have seemed quite so plausible.

To this end the film also does a great job riffing on the narcissistic outlet the web provides for everyone, the notion of Internet "fame", the prevalence of social media in society and so on, all without getting overly preachy or suggesting that these technologies are inherently bad.

They merely lay the foundation for the high-concept premise, and with Catfish directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman at the helm, it's none-too-surprising that they manage to make the film both provocative and timely.