That's because the idea was brilliant, the negative effects of social media being very much a relevant issue and something that anybody would wholly relate to. And if done right, Social Nightmare also could have been good, what turned out to be though was a movie that was as far away from good as you could go. There are worse movies around and it at least has the idea and a decent performance from Kirsten Prout that salvages it somewhat. But not enough to ignore the badness of everything else, the worst thing being that the reveal of the perpetrator and their motive was not believable for a second(mainly because agreed the person was the least likely one to have done it and the movie at first made it like they couldn't possibly have done) and was actually rather insulting. The characters never rise above the cardboard, shallow stereotypes, and the writing had no natural flow, was lacking in any real sense and sounded increasingly ridiculous as Social Nightmare wore on. The story was just one lazy and WTF plot point after another complete with some irrelevant filler and the closer Social Nightmare gets to the end the duller it gets rather than more suspenseful and compelling, by the time you find out who was responsible you just don't care anymore. And that was reflected in the acting, with Rachel True and Daryl Hannah(at her most unattractive) phoning in and Tim Russ having very little to do, Prout is the one bright spot, you don't engage or identify with their situations and the characters and the actors act like they don't care either. The production values are very Lifetime-movie like, over-saturated colours, editing that jumps around and the odd overlong shot, Social Nightmare is flatly directed and the music is little more than a monotonous bore. In conclusion, an awful movie on its own and to have an idea as brilliant as this gone to total waste is unforgivable. 2/10 Bethany Cox

This is a Lifetime Channel movie, so I almost passed it by. I am glad I didn't.The plot summary is a bit misleading here, as the story is really about what happens when someone hacks into your computer and your accounts and starts posting things that are harmful to others. In this case, Catherine Hardy (Kirsten Prout) is the victim, but no one will believe her. Yes, this is hardly a new theme, but still I found the film to be engaging.Kirsten Prout is very good as Catherine, in an understated way. The school scenes are believable. Chloe Bridges is convincing as Catherine's best friend. The true surprise here is Daryl Hannah, who I always categorized as an actress getting work because of her beauty. Well, Daryl is no longer a spring chicken, but is very good in the role of Catherine's mother.This would have actually gotten a better rating, but for the horrible ending. It appears the crew got the word to end this film and wrapped it up with a convenient, one scene let's tie it all together and make everyone warm and fuzzy ending. Bummer!

I liked this movie. I liked the main girl and was totally gripped to the end to find out who was the hacker responsible for the girl's nightmare. The resolution was good and satisfying. Since watching the movie I noticed the marketing for the film and think it is terrible - since it is completely SPOILER full! Do not look at the poster or read the tag-line or the entire film will be ruined!As a TV movie it definitely is a good watch. There isn't much in the way of anything new or anything interesting in terms of camera angles and the way the film was shot - but I think this is the m.o. for Lifetime anyway and as such, it was far better than expected.Performances all around were good - and nuanced enough that the ending worked well. Generally the acting good and there were some funny moments too.

This film wastes a potentially interesting subject (an abusive mother who intentionally sabotages and destroys the life of her daughter and friends) by falling into lifetime movie clichés. It was actually disgusting to see all of the shallow, unbelievable and lazy plot points that come up, for instance someone emails a blurry picture of a girl drinking a wine cooler (but it could be a bottle of lemonade for all we know) to admissions at Yale, and they not only open the email and read it, but they revoke a student's admission as a result? It's so bad, though maybe there was some amusement in seeing what actors agreed to slum it for this production; such Rachel True's role as a (vice principal? teacher? counselor?--apparently all three) which she didn't even bother to phone in, and it's always fun seeing Tuvok from star trek voyager. But not only was the depiction of events unbelievable and impossible, so was the end scene ultimately infuriating. Her daughter tells her she's not responsible for leaking naked pictures of her daughter online, drugging her, physically assaulting people and slandering, defaming dozens of students at her daughters school, and she replies that "I know, that's what my therapists told me too, it's just a chemical imbalance." When no, it isn't; you're a criminal and should be in jail, you don't have a right to abuse your daughter or other young people. This kind of abuse is a deep seated pattern that you do need to take responsibility for in order to change. No qualified therapist or mental institution would say "it's not your fault" after all of that. I hate lifetime!