"Catfish" (2010)

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Documentary, Drama, Special Interest

Directed By: Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost

Released: September 17^th, 2010

Runtime: 86 minutes

Studio: Universal Pictures/Rogue

Summary:

When Nev Shulman, a New York photographer, receives a Facebook request from a child named Abby, he cannot guess the unusual odyssey on which he will soon embark. Abby sends Nev an unusually skilled painting based on one of his photos. Intrigued, he begins online relationships with the rest of Abby's family, including her older sister, Megan. Though troubling inconsistencies soon emerge, Nev continues his online flirtation with Megan, resulting in a road trip to meet her in person.

Review:

There are some theories that this might not be an altogether legit documentary in the sense some of it, if not in some theories, all of it are fake and merely put together for our entertainment. I think whether or not the contents really did or did not take place is irrelevant to the point of the documentary. It’s quite a prominent film, particularly nowadays when meeting people and communicating online is turning into the norm.

 

Some of the moments in the film are quite chilling and eerie when you consider how close to home this could be. It’s a reminder of how careful you just have to be. You can’t trust everyone, no matter how much you’d like to.

If I’m being honest, I think the whole documentary would have had a far more interesting slant had they focused more on the person behind ‘the catfishing’ than the three guys we’re with. If this was intended to be legit (and really wasn’t staged) then you have to wonder how people could get themselves into such situations in the first place, or how they wouldn’t cop it before they did. I appreciate that’s probably what the documentary is trying to prove. Yet even so…

I’d be kind of curious to see how the show panned out. 

TRAILER: