What is it about old computers and their primitive operating systems that cause feelings of unease in us now? Is it the clunky but user-friendly icons that dot the desktop? The jarring sounds that clicking on the wrong thing could cause, giving us a reason to jump a little bit? The constant unease that humans always seem to have with powerful and new technology? Is it a combination of all these things, and perhaps, that these are contraptions that are never truly under our control, despite convincing ourselves otherwise? 

Deadware exploits a lot of that unease with technology. Set in 1999 with a story told entirely through video calls and desktop interactions between two friends on Windows-based computers, the movie does well with few resources to spin a story that gets under your skin. Megan (Sarah Froelich) and Jay (Ali Alkhafaji) meet up to catch up on a video call. Before they know it they find themselves sucked into a game called House of Hunger, despite Jay’s reluctance. It’s a game full of creepy imagery and weird puzzles. As Megan and Jay progress deeper and deeper into the game, they may be forced to confront something that neither of them is ready to face. 

The technical aspects of Deadware are well executed. Despite taking place on only a computer desktop, there are some effective moments of suspense and scares. We watch with held breath as a mouse pointer moves to accept a video chat invitation from a questionable sender or the quick flashes of a ghostly presence across the screens. What keeps you on high alert is the fact anything could come across the computer at any moment. And sometimes, it does. 

Writer/Director Isaac Rodriguez has done well in crafting a compelling, multi-layered story utilizing just the desktop view of a computer and two actors. While the hook is the horror in the two characters venturing into a sinister web browser-based game, the movie reveals itself to be much more than this. As the layers slowly peel away, we discover that the game may be more than just a way to pass time. Rodriguez employs the game as a means to reveal long-held secrets and deeply rooted guilt for the characters. It’s something you don’t see coming or expect in this type of movie, but it’s the reveals and the depth they add that is a welcome surprise. Without revealing too much, Rodriguez is able to bring the separate strings of the narrative together in a both surprising and inevitable way. 

It would be easy to cast aside Deadware as simply another found footage movie with a recycled premise we’ve come to see more and more of. Isaac Rodriguez’s writing, however, is able to elevate the movie above all the others of a similar ilk. It’s a welcome surprise and makes it a movie well worth watching.

7 out of 10