Eighteen-year-old Juri spends his days absorbed in his computer gaming world, to the exclusion of school, friends, and his exasperated girlfriend. One night his Internet ally “Modred,” actually another student named Niki, turns up at his door, fearing for his life. Niki is caught in the grasp of a mysterious new online game, and Juri, warned of the dangers but with nothing to lose, eagerly follows him down the rabbit hole. Initially unimpressed with a game that seems to be nothing but a series of banal tasks, Juri soon finds himself immersed in an all-consuming race against the clock for his very life.
In this taut and violent noir thriller, the lines between reality and the game blur as Juri and Niki are absorbed into the game’s cryptic and increasingly morbid world. Finnish suspense master Petri Kotwica (Black Ice) crafts a playfully Hitchcockian plot that blends an atmospheric style with a smart use of gaming imagery to bring a fresh and youthful twist to this high school-set paranoia thriller. –Tribeca Film Festival
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