In Rob Savage’s feature film follow-up toHost, viewers watch the troll anti-vaxxer Annie Hardy (played by theGiant Dragmusician of the same name) through her livestreamed antics that eventually put her in harm’s way.
Dashcamis shot entirely through mobile footage and a car dashcam. Annie sets the narrative from the get-go: She’s foul-mouthed, an amateurish freestyle rapper, and is totally over the COVID-19 pandemic. She flees the states with her bright red MAGA hat in tow to visit her ex-bandmate Stretch (Amar Chadha-Patel) and his girlfriend (played byHostactor Jemma Moore) - who serves no purpose but to react to Annie’s poor mannerisms. She’s portrayed through Annie’s eyes as shrill and prudish, and the viewers are immediately left questioning the movie’s perspective.
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While thisBlumhouse productionis filled with top-notch gore and an original storyline involving an elderly lady possessed by a sinister force, it is impossible to separate the movie from its cast. The real-life Hardy is seemingly identical to the caricature-esque character on the screen. Viewers watch Annie go full “Karen” on an innocent restaurant worker who requests that she wears a mask while inside the establishment, she steals Stretch’s car after she’s kicked out of the once-welcoming couple’s house, and she touts her lifestyle through her apparel, quick comments, and a dashboard figurine. Through a quick Twitter scroll, the two are revealed to be one in the same. The actor encourages her followers to stay away from the “woke kids” and she retweets posts that are marked with a red “misleading” stamp on the platform. She even has a beatboxing livestream schtick of her own.
Hardy controls the narrative ofDashcamand seldom leaves the screen, given that the film is recorded through her character’s devices. As trouble begins to brew, it’s clear thatshe will be the “final girl”and the audience will be stuck with her for the entire 77 minutes. While she may seem harmless and entertaining enough throughout the beginning, it is the exposure of the actor’s personal life that shatters this illusion - a realization egged on by the creators who let the actor and character share a name. It’s an unsettling move, driven further by the negative light cast on the COVID-conscious characters through Annie’s perspective.
While this may sound like a horror show itself, the movie’s real horror kicks in around the 30-minute mark when Annie steals Stretch’s car and decides to make a few food deliveries. She is accosted by a restaurant worker and asked to transport an unconscious elderly lady named Angela (Angela Enahoro). Annie refuses to and in an uncanny moment of chivalry, accuses the worker of sex trafficking.
However, with no explanation from the worker, the livestreamer is quickly bought off with a stack of money and carries on with Angela by her side. As the night continues with a few disasters being chalked up to Angela’s age, Stretch tracks the two and they proceed to the given destination. The trip is interrupted as a series of sinister happenings begins to follow and group, and mysterious Angela disappears and reappears amid the chaos, making her impossible to escape. Annie dominates most of the commentary, which is a shame given Stretch’s more sympathetic and palatable nature.
Aside from Annie, the movie is guided by the ebb and flow of the character’s livestream viewers who leave comments that are visible on the side of the screen. Much like its social media-themed horror movie predecessorSpree,this function served as a cheap form of entertainment in the beginning but eventually turned into an extreme amount of annoyance. Anybody who’s actually watched a livestream knows to mute the comments once things start getting good.
Dashcamis entertaining, even at its worst moments. It’s deliciously short and in the light of the film’s chaos, the viewer is left with zero clue what will happen next. That being said, with nobody to root for, it’s a bloodbath for the ages and will leave stomachs churning, and meals uneaten. But, it offers no reprieve for its build and fails to tie together itsoff-beat social commentary with its overarching story.The controversial bits are added for shock value, and it will achieve that as, upon its wide release, it is destined to be one of the most polarizing horror movies of the last few years. At what point do we ignore our ethical standard for mindless entertainment? And how good must a movie be for one to detach from its harmful nature? Unfortunately,Dashcamdoesn’t offer a solid answer to either question.
Dashcamhad its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival July 23, 2025. It screens at the 2022 Panic Festival May 1, and will see its theatrical and on-demand release on June 3.
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