Content Warning: This short film and this review reference violence and threats against women.
Dee is an ASMR Vlogger (autonomous sensory meridian response) and she specializes in recordings of sounds to soothe her audience. After a long period of time away from her listeners, she hosts a livechat to show them she’s okay. She hints at having recently had to make a big move to get away from a significant other. After a participant in the chat makes some pretty lewd comments directed at her body and what he’d like to do to her, Dee blocks him and logs off the chat to continue her sounds, without having to look at the comments. What she can’t see is the mass amount of concerned fans sending her a message about something very wrong in her new apartment.
Tingle Monsters is intentionally uncomfortable. After seeing the first possible shadows in the background, it’s pretty easy to lose track of the fact that this is a movie and not an actual livestream, especially if you’re watching the film on a platform where livestreaming is possible. What is so scary about Tingle Monsters is that this stuff does happen, and it happens mostly to female creators. It’s not uncommon for women to get death threats, rape threats, threats to their family, and sometimes in person threats as a creator. As someone who has received death and rape threats for seemingly innocuous content, I can tell you it’s a pretty freaky experience. It’s the final live stream comments at the end that are really the most horrifying part of this piece, as people immediately assume everything is a stunt for Dee to get attention.
Actress, director, and writer of Tingle Monsters, Alexandra Serio has had her own experiences in this arena. In 2014, she founded a media company to make education materials. She personally has received abusive comments and threats, as have the hosts she works with. I think the majority of us remember the horrible world of Gamer Gate, and if you’ve been involved in the creative space chances are you’ve come across some form of online harassment. Serio’s work highlights the frightening correlations of escalation from verbal threats to physical threats, and violence. Her work also draws from an article written by Amanda Hess called Why Aren’t Women Welcome on the Internet.
The film is unsettling and creepy, but a big reminder that it’s important to listen to women when they say they do not feel safe or are experiencing harassment.
Tingle Monsters is a short film that packs a big punch. Look for it online May 20th.
