My one issue with Selfie is well, the selfies that blow up. For both the film’s themes and the monstrous avatar to really hit home, the audience should be privy to how the selfies look outside of Sarah’s perspective. See, her perception of her selfies is that they look entirely inhuman. The large saucer eyes, the massive lips, and colossal cheekbones give them the appearance of an alien disguised as a human. It is a bit hard to swallow that these pictures would make her social media famous. If we could view the photos free from that vantage point, and see what everyone else is seeing, it would enhance the disconnect Sarah is experiencing and make the movie that much creepier.
“…concisely and efficiently sets up Sarah, her social media status, and her frustrations…”
I also entirely understand that how the audience is viewing these pictures is filtered through Sarah’s viewpoint. Thematically, the photos looking unrealistic works on all fronts. But, if we are to believe that her social media presence is so significant, it is harder to get behind as the unnatural proportions enter uncanny valley territory. But, this is a minor obstacle in an otherwise intense, dark, and creepy affair.
Selfie runs around 10-minutes and is eerie and scary. The cast is excellent, the direction maximizes tension, and the writing effectively establishes Sarah and her plight. While the selfies look too fake to believably cause a considerable stir, from Sarah’s point of view and a creepy design standpoint, it delivers big time. All in all, this is a chilling ride well worth seeking out.
Selfie was scheduled to screen at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival.
"…a chilling ride well worth seeking out."
