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We don’t tend to think of Netflix when we consider the great horror films of the last decade, but the streaming service has delivered quite a few gems. Mike Flanagan’s Hush and his adaptation of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game automatically come to mind. Remi Weekes’ powerful and culturally relevant His House more than deserves a mention. Then there’s Leigh Janiak’s mega-hit Fear Street trilogy, of course. Yet one of my personal favorites remains Daniel Goldhaber’s Cam.
Released straight to Netflix in 2018, Cam tells a riveting story revolving around the camgirl industry. It helped to shift the conversation around sex workers into positive territory (something that should’ve happened a long time ago). You could call it ahead of its time. I call it a gem worth rediscovering. But you’ll want to hurry, because the film leaves Netflix on November 16.
What’s Cam About?
Alice (Madeline Brewer) is a camgirl with her sights set on ranking number one at the site where she works. Ambitious to the core, she’s well on her way. That all changes, though, when Alice wakes up one day to discover that she has been locked out of her account and replaced by someone who looks and sounds just like her. Except, it can’t be her, can it? Desperate to reclaim her own image, Alice sets out to discover who or what is behind the replica. But in a world operated by sleazy men and judgmental cops, she’ll have to go it alone.
A Thrilling Gem Ahead of Its Time
In our review at Dread, we described Cam as a “refreshingly sex-positive” narrative that’s an “Icarus-like freefall into the perils of ambition, the scarlet-lettered shame of sex work, and the increasingly pertinent monstrosity of fan entitlement.”
Stylish and thrilling, Goldhaber directs Cam with a rare confidence for a debut feature. That same intensity carries over to his sophomore film, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, one that had me biting my nails the whole way through. Yet it’s Isa Mazzei’s script that really makes the film tick. An ex-camgirl herself, Isa brings an understanding to the industry that had so often been left out in the past. The characters around Alice may judge her, but the film itself never does. Instead, it takes care in portraying camgirls as they really are…hardworking, talented individuals deserving of your respect.
As for the perils of ambition and fan entitlement, even the filmmakers couldn’t have predicted the foreshadowing of Cam’s techno-horror premise. Today, we have bots imitating real people. A.I. grins with uncanny smiles in an attempt to appear human. Fans believing they’re entitled to every aspect of a person’s life, while tech bros try to replace talented people with mindless robots that will never say no. Cam portends a terrifying digital world that has only grown more relevant over time.
If you’ve somehow missed this electrifying take on the camgirl industry, make sure to stream Cam on Netflix now before it disappears on November 16th.
Categorized: News
