The big hook for “Catfish” has been the tagline “Don’t let anyone tell you what it is,” and this has had audiences providing theories since the trailer was released what the big hook is to the story. What is the big surprise in the climax? I won’t spoil it for you. At least I’ll try not to. I’ll leave it up to you. Nevertheless, “Catfish” is not a movie that you will expect going in and leaving and it will assuredly have you re-thinking your life and your overall view on personal relationships.
“Catfish” definitely has a high spooky side to it, but not in the sense that there is anything routinely paranormal, but in the sense that even when we know someone we never really know them. In a year where we have “The Last Exorcism” with a surprise ending that has had people split, and “Paranormal Activity 2” which will likely have a huge surprise finisher allowing for a third film, “Catfish” is kind of a breath of fresh air, and in a way it is a suspense thriller, but not one with a standard surprise that will have viewers thinking “See?! I told you that would happen!” People might just feel cheated going out of this movie for the fact that there isn’t a traditional finisher. There are no actual routine ghoulies, there is simply just what it’s supposed to be and what has happened is “Catfish” and its marketing campaign has purposely marketed it as a horror film for the plain fact that it’s exactly what happens to Yaniv, a young man who is sent a painting from a fan of his photography.
Running a studio with his two friends, he receives a painting from a small girl who adapts one of his photos in to a vivid depiction that leaves him breathless. Flattered by her correspondence, the two form a long distance friendship where Yaniv continues investing in her paintings, as the young girl somewhat gives him a look in to her life which involves the normal tropes of childhood as well as her workings in the art industry as an apparent child prodigy. Yaniv then begins to hook up and chat with the girl’s family all of whom link to him on Facebook and they’re a family of artists. One is a charismatic rocker, another is a performer, and he immediately meets big sister Megan Faccio a beautiful angelic talented musician who is also quite stunning and instantly takes a liking to Yaniv who is at first very hesitant and soon begins to fall for her the more she continues sending pictures and engages in phone calls.
But then after sending him one of her own original songs, Yaniv and his friends discover that something isn’t quite what it seems, and soon the relationship as well as Yaniv’s own perception of this storybook romance is broken down and they decide to get to the bottom of it. “Catfish” does occasionally become spooky the more the guys delve in to this mystery and learn more and more about this onion that begins to rot more and more as they peel it away, and in the end it serves as a stunning and important cautionary tale about how the internet and social networking has completely changed and re-defined relationships forever. Whether it’s for better or for worse, the internet has altered how we look at life and how sometimes when we think we’re perfectly tuned to someone, we can learn how easily it is to fabricate something from nothing.
How we can have a relationship with someone for almost a year and never truly know them at all is shocking and can be dangerous in the long run. “Catfish” is an important movie, and one that should be shown for everyone who subscribes to the notion that the internet is reality, because deep down we’re oblivious to the real world, and it’s definitely not staring back at us through Jpegs, and Gifs. It’s not often I get to go in to a movie thinking I have it pegged from minute one and leave it completely re-thinking my own perceptions and the world outside my computer screen. Serving as a word of caution to audiences, and a stern commentary about the digital age and the way it’s completely distanced us from the reality and leaves us vulnerable to strangers tapping at our doors, “Catfish” is a remarkable movie, and one I suggest for anyone looking for something different in film. Is it a horror film? Is it a tragedy? It very well could be.