After reading the title you might be wondering what is exactly a video friend. I don't even know if that even exists in real life and if "video friend" is the proper term. But it is when a person makes a video of him/herself chatting with the camera and pretending to have a conversation with the viewer. Even to the point of having silences while the person behind the camera listens and reacts to what the viewer is saying to the TV.
It is very creepy to watch and is something that will probably make the problems worse and not better for the person in need of social contact. In this movie, the main character is a man who spends his days taking care of his sick mother. He doesn't have a job or social life because his mother needs constant care and it appears he is an only child.
He has been living like this for a good while and his frustration is building up to unhealthy levels. The story takes place before the internet was created and people still used VHS. His only hope is to find a girlfriend through a matching service that uses short videos of their clients where they say a small introduction about who they are and what they are looking for.
It is in the offices of the company offering this service where he finds a video called Rent a Pal. He purchases it, and when playing the tape in his home he finds a charismatic guy talking with him and being all friendly. In a very weird way, he eventually begins to chat with the TV, and most of the time the conversation is very fluid as if the TV guy really hearing him. If this person was already having psychological issues, interacting with the video guy was the catalyst for much deeper damage.
He becomes obsessed with talking with the video guy, and while I was seeing this obsession being developed I was hoping for the story to take the Creep's route and track him down in real life but sadly that didn't happen. Instead, he tried to have a normal life but this habit of talking with the TV get in the way. This is obviously an alarming habit but there is nowhere there to set him straight.
The film eventually reaches an intense climax and a shocking but not really surprising ending. If you like psychological thrillers and character study you will probably enjoy this film. Have in mind, this is a slow story and might get a bit boring in the first third of the story. I enjoyed it but I was expecting something better.
The best
- Great performance from the main actor.
- Good story about this type of social problem.
The worst
- For a moment I was confused if this was a psychological thriller or a paranormal story.
More information: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12274228/ Review: AAA In numbers: 6.5/10
