Panic Button (2011)
Directed by: Chris Crow
Starring: Scarlett Alice Johnson, Jack Gordon, Michael Jibson, Elen Rhys
Review by: Nia Edwards-Behi
The horror genre has always been an effective arena for exploring the topical, and Panic Button is a film that does exactly that. Taking the tricky topic of social networking as its inspiration, this impressive low-budget thriller explores the more sinister possibilities of living online. Four strangers win a competition on social networking site All2Gethr that sees them boarding a swanky private jet taking them for a once in a lifetime trip to New York City. As they settle down to the in-flight entertainment – a game hosted by a CGI alligator – the group begins to realise the implications of their online actions, and the dark motivations of the people providing their luxury flight.
Most of Panic Button takes place in one location: the fancy private jet flying our cast of characters to NYC. Director Chris Crow, who made an impressive debut with twisted-slasher Devil’s Bridge, makes the most of the limited space, the claustrophobia mounting as the film ticks by. Luckily, the main cast of four more than withstand the gruelling close-ups and twisting narrative. Scarlett Alice Johnson makes for a strong lead as single mother Jo, while Elen Rhys is suitably wide-eyed as sweet girl Gwen. Jack Gordon’s Max is the most superficially likeable character, but it’s Michael Jibson who steals the show as Dave, the smartly-dressed but grossly laddish, irritating prick of a character that you’d definitely not want to be stuck on a plane with. He’s the kind of character whose demise you hope for, but for a change Dave’s an annoying character who is at least nuanced and intended to be that way. A large number of recent slasher films and survival films tend to be populated by unlikeable, two-dimensional characters. Although Panic Button’s unwitting victims are fairly obvious stereotypes, they’re at least likeable and well-developed. Even brilliantly-annoying Dave has his moments of sympathy. If not for this great sense of character, the film could easily have been a prosaic thriller.
Contributing to this is the tight script, the discussions about the clunky topic of social networking never coming across as anything but natural. It’s easy to treat a topic such as social networking, particularly when considering the more troubling side of the phenomenon, in an awkward way: the way social commentators might talk is entirely different to how every day users of networks like All2Gethr.com would talk about status updates and poking. Panic Button’s strong sense of character is what really keeps it together, as the narrative becomes increasingly twisty and verges on the over-blown – however, it never quite tips over that line into the realm of the unbelievable. The film is tense throughout, and the device of the creepy animated alligator character controlling events is surprisingly effective. It shouldn’t work, but it does, mostly thanks to Joshua Richards’ commanding, booming voice work. The melding of psychological horror with the topicality of the dark side of the internet is fairly seamless, matters such as cyber-bullying and voyeurism never seeming to be shoe-horned in for the sake of it. What’s key to this success is that the online actions of characters – from watching snuff videos to pretending to be someone they’re not – are never presented in a particularly sensationalist manner, and creepiest of all are the moments when you stop and think: ‘hey, I do that…’!
Panic Button is a breath of fresh air, a modern, original twist on a familiar narrative form. Keeping up an impressively tense atmosphere, this is a film that thrills as it makes you think. With upcoming festival screenings at FrightFest in August, and Abertoir in November (where you can also see director Chris Crow’s debut, Devil’s Bridge), Panic Button is home-grown horror worth seeking out.