Nerve (2016)

"Is this a dare?"
"No. It’s carousel."

Venus "Vee" Delmonico (Roberts) is a high school senior, trying to find a way to tell her mother (Juliette Lewis) that she wants to go to college across the country.  She tends to play it safe, unlike her best friend Sydney (Meade) who enjoys taking risks and being in the spotlight.  Sydney is playing a game called Nerve, where you are either a Player or a Watcher.  The Players are assigned dares by the Watchers, and if they successfully complete the dare, they get paid.  If you fail the dare or bail / refuse to do the dare, you are kicked out of the ranking.  The highest ranking players will compete in the finals.

Vee joins the game as a Player, after her friends accuse her of not taking a chance.  For the first dare, she has to kiss a stranger.  The stranger, Ian (Franco), is also playing Nerve and the Watchers want them to team up.  Can they survive the game?


In 2012 Jeanne Ryan wrote the young adult novel "Nerve."  The novel was popular enough to gain the attention of Catfish directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman.  Since the novel is very similar to their TV show, they were drawn to the story.

The film is timely, with people obsessing over "Pokemon Go" and constantly glued to their phones.  The story moves at a brisk pace and keeps you guessing.  The cast is good.  It is a decent summer action flick.

Nerve (2016) 96 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for thematic material involving dangerous and risky behavior, some sexual content, language, drug content, drinking and nudity-all involving teens
Director: Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman
Starring: Emma Roberts as Venus "Vee" Delmonico
Dave Franco as Ian
Emily Meade as Sydney
Miles Heizer as Tommy
Kimiko Glenn as Liv
Marc John Jefferies as Wes
Colson "Machine Gun Kelly" Baker as Ty
Brian Marc as J.P.
Samira Wiley as Hacker Kween