Director Ivo van Art's chipper dark comedy of a chic lady turned unlikely serial-killer-who-can't-help-serial-killing may remind viewers of genre relations like John Waters' Serial Mom or, going back to the daddy of them all, Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood, though with social media as a timely twist. Whether it's timely enough to quite justify all the smirking savagery is up to the viewer.
Femke Boot (Katja Herbers) is a busy single mom and high-profile op-ed columnist for a major newspaper/website in Holland; not only must she render some new POV piece regularly, but she is also late in delivering a novel to her publisher for the looming Christmas marketplace. Moreover, her teenage daughter Anna (Claire Porro) is embroiled in a freedom-of-expression controversy at school. At least the new man in her life seems to be working out.
But Femke is bombarded online with continuous hateful personal attacks, insults, and threats (the film's original Dutch title is actually quite obscene), which only increase after she complains about mean tweets on TV.
By chance, she learns the identity of one of the harassers—a nondescript family guy—and vandalizes his house. And later, she kills him, impulsively clipping his middle finger off with his hand tools. This soon becomes her nocturnal routine, as Femke's cyber-sleuthing unmasks one online troll after another (all male, despite viewer expectations a major twist is coming from that direction). She hunts them down and murders/mutilates the tormentors. How long can Femke keep her avenging hidden?
The feminist Twitter-reader revenge fantasy is a technically sharp item, well-paced, and with a running time apt to a transgressive drive-in or straight-to-video schlocker. But give Roger Corman (and Waters) credit for coming up with better endings; something just seems to be missing here (though it probably doesn't mitigate the danger of an English-language do-over down the line). Herbers is an appealing heroine, not entirely let off the (meat)hook for her fanaticism, as social media and anonymous male bullying drive her crazy.
FYI, nobody brings up the concept of a "Karen"—a privileged, intolerant white female with a smartphone, demanding her way or else—which became au courant in the media during the making of this film, though Femke fits the profile indeed. Doubtless, some other feature will tackle that meme. And aye, there will be blood. A strong optional purchase. (Aud: P)