Short Film Review: "Tingle Monsters", The World's First ASMR Horror Film
Alexandra Serio’s short film, Tingle Monsters, seeks to showcase how violence against women truly starts with words. Told through the lens of an ASMR livestream, this short invites viewers to examine the line between the real-world treatment of women and the things men say on the internet.
An ASMR vlogger with a devoted fan base returns from an extended absence with a livestream that spirals out of control.
Tingle Monsters was heavily inspired by Alexandra Serio’s own experience making female-driven educational content and seeing the abusive comments female hosts received for everything from their voice to the way they looked. In her director’s statement, she stated, “I was compelled to make Tingle Monsters because I believe that violence against women truly starts with words.” Constructing the short entirely around an ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, livestream, Serio contrasts the hurt negative sexist comments inflict against a phenomena designed to elicit “low-grade euphoria” from specific auditory — or visual — stimuli. Given how female-dominated ASMR is, it’s also serves as a fitting medium for this socially-relevant thriller to explore its theme.
That said, the ASMR aspect may be a make or break point for many viewers. Despite the devout collective of ASMR fanatics, there’s still a large amount of people, like us, who don’t understand the phenomena at all. So, if you stand outside the niche, or you have a strong dislike for soft, whispery voices on a hot mic, this short may be a bit frustrating and hard to stomach in the wrong kinda ways. However, regardless how confounding ASMR may be, we can agree that the videos are pretty peculiar and creepy (despite those who may find them calming) — yet another reason why it makes a good framing device.
The film centers around Dee, a ASMRtist who’s been on a bit of a recording hiatus, ditching a significant other who was less than supportive of her little ASMR community to move across country. Freshly unpacked and without a stable wi-fi connection, Dee decides to hop online for a little ASMR action. Her community of followers seems sweet and wholesome at first blush, but the moment Dee gets up from her desk and turns her back to the camera, the messageboards are aflitter with derogatory statements from the stream’s male viewers, commenting things like “sweet ass” and “Would smash fo sho.” This is contrasted against the female viewership who wants to know where she got her top from. When Dee has to block a user for making comments that make her feel uncomfortable, things take a bit of a predictable turn toward the horrific.
The short is wholly committed to the livestream webcam approach, with messageboard comments and some video/audio distortion adding to the film’s veneer of reality. It’s an interesting variant to the “found footage” genre, and a great conceit for a low-budget short; however, it leaves something more to be desired and doesn’t fully resonate, only managing to scratch the surface of what the internet really is like for women. Lacking in depth and occasionally defying logic, the film still manages to get its point across by using its horror slant for symbolic means more so than for palpable terror.
Noble in its ambitions, Tingle Monsters falls a bit short of hitting the bullseye of its target, but it raises some good points along the way. The film tackles socially relevant female issues from a unique lens, but it feels a bit doughy and underdeveloped, failing to truly connect the dots between internet comments and the physical manifestation of violence. But don’t just take our word for it, give the film a go yourself. It debuts today, and can be watched here.
Recommendation: If you like films that seek to create conversations surrounding topical issues — or you enjoy ASMR (or are curious how that functions as a framing device) — give Tingle Monsters a go.
Rating: 2.5 tingles outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!