Powerful

Fantastic!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Casey (Maisie William) is any other 16 year old girl, who spends everlasting time on social media .However one night an anonymous  online hacker takes control of everything she assumed she had management of and  torments her to admit 3 things. Whilst appearing to be the worst Cyber- bully, she will ever come across in her lifetime .The short thriller arises moral panic frequently  for example how easy it is for teenagers to hack into anything they desire , when the internet should be safe. As well as the devastation of how one message can accumulate a ridiculous amount of trolls, which then leads on to other matters ...Cyberbully shows hidden messages which brings self reflection to the audience. Overall  I like the fact that it was only 1 hour long  but it was able to bring so much tension between Casey, her speaking screen and yourself .

This was an absolute crap. Don't get me wrong, Maisie Williams' acting is on point. But wow this script is bad.Now I just want to be a cyberbully for some reason. This movie depicts normal circle-jerking on the internet as cyberbullying and totally missed what it means to "don't feed the troll" (ironic, isn't it). The only good part about it was the ending when she finally closed the computer.I liked the format. Only one character on screen for the most time wasn't that bad, could have been great without the awful story behind it.The movie was slow and the plot forced. I hope I'm the first one to criticize it like that and that an "har-har-cker" will force me to admit my deeds, overdose and get my life destroyed.God, that was awful.

This short drama was promoted mainly off the attraction of Maisie Williams (she of Game of Thrones fame) and it was the reason I came to it. I wasn't sure quite what the plot was, beyond the title laying out the subject area, and it was a nice surprise to find that it was several things, and because of this, they all worked pretty well. On the face of it we have a drama where two characters communicate across a computer – one of whom we do not see, the other being the main character Casey. This starts slowly, and at first I was struggling with watching characters type to one another, but it got better once the text became voice chat, and the plot started to unfold.Although it has issues that are not really resolved and did bug me a little, mostly the plot works. The elements where I felt I was just being asked to "go with it" were not always perfect, but it is the movement of the viewer within the plot that makes it engaging. Our sympathies change around slightly through the hour – not really twists and turns as such, but it does move well. This working allows the drama to do something else – which is to be a social message too, but to be one in a way that works and doesn't have people turning off because they feel like they are being preached at. It is a fine line at times, but mostly it manages to stay on the right side of it to produce a topical drama which stands as a cautionary tale that makes one thing about the issues.The drama keeps it from being too heavy handed, and shifting the viewer round encourages thought – not only of the drama, but of the subjects, which in turn then helps the social message aspect hit home more effectively. I am old enough not to have had to deal with the internet while at school, but I do feel for those who are born into that because it is so easy to have anonymous people tear at you for the sake of it; people like to label others trolls, but as with this drama, often just the culture of cruel comments and sarcasm from "regular" people is just as damaging.The cast is limited to a handful of people, with Williams being the only person really in it for longer than a few scenes – indeed I don't think she is ever really off the screen since the whole film is in real time and plays out entirely in her bedroom. She is excellent; delivering a lot with her face and really getting into her character – it is not easy to hold the film up in this way, particularly when you are alone and acting at a computer screen, but she does it very well and contributes to making the plot work by virtue of her character. Of the others it is worth mentioning Haruka Abe. Although she only has a few scenes in videos online, she convinces at being cheerful and likable, while also being naïve, but more importantly she sells the change in her pretty well without over playing it; it is a small role but an important one and she does it well. Cyberbully isn't perfect as a drama, but it works better than I expected and moves the viewer around nicely as well as being reasonably gripping. The social aspect benefits from this, as it delivers a thoughtful cautionary tale and advice, but avoids being preachy or alienating – which is a difficult thing to do, so kudos to it for that.

As teenager Casey prepares for a night out she listens to music on her computer; strangely it keeps changing track. She contacts her friend Megan to ask if she has had problems and she says her account was once hacked. While talking Megan alerts to an offensive tweet posted by Casey's ex-boyfriend. They discuss getting revenge and a mutual friend gives Casey access to the boy's twitter account; she posts an embarrassing tweet suggesting he is impotent. She is then contacted by the boy who helped her… but it isn't… she soon realises somebody is impersonating him; somebody who has access to her computer and thus her webcam. He starts talking in an electronic voice; in his words 'like a constipated Stephen Hawking'. The voice claims to help victims of online bullying but Casey doesn't understand; surely he is bullying her. Things are suddenly turned around as he points out her online activity could be construed as bullying; she protests that she was just having a laugh until he shows her the effects of what she started. If he isn't to post topless pictures of her to the net she will have to do exactly what he says…This TV drama was utterly gripping, it takes place almost entirely within Casey's bedroom and apart from people on the screen of her laptop Casey is the only character we see. As such the story succeeds or fails on how believable Casey is and thanks to Maisie Williams' brilliant performance I totally believed in her character; so much so that I barely thought of Arya Stark… her character in 'Game of Thrones'; a series that had be engrossed a couple of weeks ago. The one room setting and the fact that Casey is the only person physically in the room, and isn't allowed to leave the room, gives the story a claustrophobic feel and makes her seem alone. Shot in real time; often from the point of view of her webcam or in extreme close-up it feels as though she is caught like a rabbit in the headlights unable to avoid the fate her tormentor has planned.The nature of the story means it is the sort of thing that should be shown to teenagers as a warning; just because one thinks something is a 'bit of a laugh' doesn't mean others won't feel bullied; especially when more and more people get involved and none thinking about the target of their laughs. It also emphasises that one should be careful what one does on line and to remember that those 'special photos' can fall into the wrong hands. The ending is empowering rather than the depressing one I feared. Her tormentor's ability to hack into her computer, her phone and friends' accounts seemed a little far-fetched, although I'm no computer expert, but it served the needs of the drama. The only thing I found a bit disappointing was the strong language… yes it was totally believable but it might make some people think it unsuitable for the people who most need to see it. Overall a brilliant one off drama that should be seen by teenagers and those with teenaged children.