He wants you to watch|Dec. 12, 2013|USA|76 Min.|R
Genre: Horror;Mystery;Thriller
Description: The Den is a 2013 thriller film that follows the story of Elizabeth, a sociology graduate student. For her thesis project, she decides to explore a webcam-based social media platform called The Den, which connects users with random strangers worldwide, similar to Chatroulette. Her goal is to determine how many meaningful conversations she can have through the platform.
With the support of her friend Sally, Elizabeth secures a grant for her project, despite initial hesitation from the graduate board. Over the next few months, Elizabeth spends countless hours chatting with strangers, much to the frustration of her boyfriend, Damien, and her friends Jenni and Max. While most interactions are cut short due to inappropriate content or scams, Elizabeth manages to gather substantial data and remains hopeful about her project’s success.
However, her experience takes a dark turn when she encounters a user with a malfunctioning webcam. The stranger behaves aggressively, especially when Jenni appears in the frame, causing Jenni to disconnect. Shortly after, Elizabeth’s account is hacked, and her webcam begins activating without her consent.
The next day, while Elizabeth is at a coffee shop, the same stranger tries to contact her again but quickly logs off when someone approaches her. Later that night, Damien surprises Elizabeth by visiting her home. Unbeknownst to them, the hacker records their intimate moments through Elizabeth’s hacked webcam and sends the footage to her graduate board, putting her reputation and project at risk.
Cast director: Zachary Donohue
Cast actor: Melanie Papalia, Matt Riedy, David Schlachtenhaufen, Adam Shapiro, Matt Lasky, Victoria Hanlin, Bill Oberst Jr., Katija Pevec, Lilly Holleman, Ron Bottitta
Original name: The Den