''Ratter'' is a 2015 American found-footage horror

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

written and directed by Branden Kramer in his feature debut. The film is based on a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

also written and co-directed by Kramer titled ''Webcam''. It stars

Ashley Benson Ashley Victoria Benson (born December 18, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is known for her role as Hanna Marin in the teen mystery-drama series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017). Benson has starred in films, including ' ...

and

Matt McGorry Matthew David McGorry (born April 12, 1986) is an American actor, writer and activist. He is best known for playing John Bennett on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' and Asher Millstone on the ABC legal drama series ...

. The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival on January 24, 2015. The film was released on February 12, 2016, in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

Destination Films Destination Films is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment currently specializing in action, thriller, niche sci-fi and low-end to medium-end horror films. History The original Destination Films was founded by Brent Baum and Steve Stabler ...

and

Vertical Entertainment Vertical Entertainment is an American film distribution and production company founded by producers Richard B. "Rich" Goldberg and Mitch Budin in 2012. History In 2012, Rich Goldberg & Mitch Budin founded Vertical Entertainment, a film distribut ...

Plot

Emma Taylor, a graduate student, moves to New York City for a fresh start after her recent break-up with her boyfriend Alex. After settling into her new

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

apartment, someone begins anonymously hacking all her electronic devices and watching her through the cameras. One day, while attending college, Emma meets Michael, who asks her out. The two begin dating. However, after Emma pleasures herself one night, she becomes suspicious as the hacker begins stealing private photos of her with Michael and sending her messages and videos pretending to be Michael. She confronts Michael, who denies sending the messages, but Emma does not believe him and starts avoiding him. To relieve some stress, Emma and her best friend, Nicole, go clubbing. While they are out, the hacker breaks into her apartment. She returns home drunk and passes out on her couch, unaware that her hacker is out on her balcony. When she wakes up, he is gone, but she does not pay attention as she goes into the bathroom to relieve herself. Michael comes over later that day to check on her and to give her a cat so she does not feel lonely. The two then reconcile and have sex. Sometime later, Michael calls her and tells her someone emailed him telling him to leave Emma alone. Emma panics and calls the police who do nothing. She begins feeling isolated and depressed because nothing can be done about the situation. One day, Emma comes home to find her apartment door unlocked. She walks into her home and finds her cat dead. She tries to call Michael and tell him the news. However, he never answers or calls back. Feeling more vulnerable than ever, Emma spends the day wandering the city so she does not have to be home alone. She makes plans with Nicole to hang out at Emma's apartment later so she returns home. While waiting for Nicole, Emma and her mother video chat. In the middle of the chat, Emma's power cuts off and she begins screaming. The hacker appears and begins attacking Emma while the chat with her mother is still going. Emma's screams abruptly stop and her mother calls the police. The hacker then turns the laptop towards him and Emma's mother begins pleading with him to leave her alone. He shuts the laptop. The police show up and begin searching for Emma's whereabouts.

Cast

as Emma *

as Michael *

Rebecca Naomi Jones Rebecca Naomi Jones (born March 31, 1981) is an American actress and singer best known for her performances in the Broadway rock musicals ''Passing Strange'', '' American Idiot'', and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' as well as being the first wo ...

as Nicole * Kalli Vernoff as Mom * Ted Koch as Dad * Michael William Freeman as Alex * Alex Cranmer as Professor * John Anderson as Kent *

Karl Glusman Karl Glusman (born January 3, 1988) is an American actor. He had a lead role in Gaspar Noé’s controversial pornographical drama ''Love'' (2015) and appeared in ''The Neon Demon'' (2016) and ''Nocturnal Animals'' (2016). Early life Glusman wa ...

as Brent * Jason Kolotouros as Officer Cicero

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival on January 24, 2015, In October 2015,

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) is a specialty film division of Sony Pictures. The company specializes in acquiring and producing films for a wide variety of distribution platforms. History The group became a stand-alone division of ...

had acquired all global distribution rights to the film. The film was released on February 12, 2016, in a

Home media

The film was released on March 1, 2016, through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

and home media formats. The film was released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

in Germany on March 17, 2016, and in Spain on May 11, 2016.

Reception

''Ratter'' has grossed $110,834 with sales of its DVD/Blu-ray releases.

References

External links

* * * * {{metacritic film 2015 films 2015 directorial debut films 2015 horror thriller films 2015 independent films 2015 thriller drama films 2010s horror drama films American horror drama films American horror thriller films American independent films American thriller drama films Features based on short films Films about mobile phones Films about social media Films about stalking Films set in apartment buildings Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Found footage films Vertical Entertainment films Screenlife films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films