Movie Review: Tagged

Maniacally Short Monday Brings Us

Tagged

Movie Review by Siobahn Harris

The writer/director of Ayuda, Patrick Mason is back with another creepy ass horror short. Tagged is incredibly short, being just under three minutes long, but I wish there was so much more!

Breakdown:

This one is pretty simple folks. Dude (Andrew Pearl) sits alone snapping selfies with his back to a darkened room. Seriously, wtf, who does that? Anyway! He takes several shots to ensure he can pick the one where he looks the hottest. As with many of the social media platforms we use today, the one he is using has a face finder feature (wow, say that five times fast) so that he can tag anyone in the picture. Unfortunately for him, the one he is using has a face finder feature so that he can tag anyone in the picture. This feature shows that he may not be as alone as he thought he was.

Thoughts:

Creepy! Apparently, Patrick Mason wants us to never use social media selfie features again! Thanks, man.

There is just something about a story that can be told without a word being spoken that impresses me. Granted, we all need to know more about this story, but it’s awesome how much we know about this guy without being told. We can tell he is single by the amount of selfies he is taking. We can see that he lives alone by his reaction to seeing someone else in his pictures. I would assume he has a good paying job because he can afford a multiple room place by himself. He has an antique camera in his room, which could either mean that he is into photography or he is a hipster, my guess is that he is into photography, just based on his style. The three books next to his bed also gives us insight into the type of guy he is. Lastly, his clock says that’s it’s 3:36. We don’t know if this is AM or PM but judging by the lighting, I’m guessing it’s AM. This tells us that he is night owl or works a night shift or maybe he has insomnia, who knows, but it’s just more insight into his life. I know I’m over thinking it, but that alone paints a picture about his lifestyle that we didn’t need to be told.

The only thing that bothered me about this short was that his dumbass was taking pictures with an empty room behind him. I know that people do it, but considering how many horror movies I watch, I would never do that! That’s just asking for trouble. Come on, people! We all know that you take selfies with your back to the wall, hold your keys in between your fingers like claws, turn on a light if you hear a noise, and always check your backseat! Maybe that’s just my paranoia but we must learn from those bloody horror movies that we love so much! However, his decision to do this made the short that much creepier, so in reality it was a perfect add in.

True Fear?

Yes! Patrick Mason did it again! Tagged was a relatable short horror that you really wish wasn’t, because now we are all going think twice about that face finder feature. I think it was smart to utilize a platform that we are all used to, because it will immediately force us into the role of the main character. This was a great short that I suggest watching over and over again because it never stops being creepy.