Nightmare Code (2014)
Director/Producer: Mark Netter
Screenplay by: M.J. Rotondi & Mark Netter
Screenplay by: M.J. Rotondi & Mark Netter
Starring:
Andrew J West
Mei Melancon
Googy Gress
Ivan Shaw
Andrew J West
Mei Melancon
Googy Gress
Ivan Shaw
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In Nightmare Code we are introduced to a new job in a tech company that has a very different program on their hands. It can make them a top player in the tech-information field. The Company had a serious tragedy befall them when their genius programmer snapped and shot almost everyone in the office, then killed himself. That man was Foster Cotton, and he wrote the code for a thought recognition program. The program predicts people’s future actions based on their thoughts, mood, feelings, and state of mind, through facial recognition and posture analysis. Applications 
for law enforcement and anti-terror are perfect uses for this technology.
for law enforcement and anti-terror are perfect uses for this technology. –
A young man, Brett Desmond, assumes the job to debug the program which only days before it was ready to be presented began rewriting its own code. When Brett finds the backdoor access into the code, the code finds access to him and discovers ways to manipulate his thoughts. What he finds at the source of this problem is more terrifying than the program itself. Is there an actual ghost in the machine?
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The story unravels in layers and keeps building into a tightly wound thriller. Philosophical and moral questions are raised through the storytelling that will keep the viewer thinking, but it doesn’t sound preachy or make a judgment. The whole film is viewed through the ‘eyes’ of the program itself, but doesn’t feel restricted in any way other than creating a claustrophobic atmosphere. Often shown as a 4-way split screen, it intrigued my voyeuristic tendencies and built the action to a crescendo.
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The last 20 minutes of this film are tense and terrifying, as the code fulfills its objective. Fans of The Matrix, The Lawnmower Man, and Ex-Machina, will love this smart tech thriller turned nightmare. It isn’t often that I give such praise to a real indie film and filmmaker, but Nightmare Code is a real winner. Hats off and a respectful bow to Mark Netter for this shining achievement. This started as an Indiegogo campaign and the page is still up (but not taking anymore donations) if you want to see the film’s humble roots and early progress. Its currently available now on I-Tunes Movies and Amazon Streaming or dvd.
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A tense tech thriller that brings you inside the world of programming then attacks you with terrifying aspects of their work.
I give it 4.0 chilling killer coding out of 5 on the pressure cooker world of programming perfectionism.
parlor of horror 