Instant Favorite.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Pretty good voyeurism thriller. I had to watch it when I saw Sasha Grey was in it (I'm sure that's what the studio had in mind). I do prefer and recommend you check out her other work on redtube.com. Now those are 10 star performances!

First off... ignore all these pious, jaded Numbnut reviewers who arrogantly diss this film ('Found Footage'...? Really? WHERE the hell do they dig up these 'people'?) Sorry... just my honest reaction after seeing several of these shallow, illiterate reviews...Going into this film, I really did NOT expect to like it very much. Actually, I kind of put off seeing it, fully expecting it to be a very shallow and 'Gimmicky' film (a word that another reviewer apparently felt necessary to repeat 3 times in his Summary) So, it was with genuine reluctance that I watched this movie. Surprisingly, within the first few moments, the film had already grabbed me and seriously snagged my full attention (I'm watching this thinking, 'What the HELL...???) After reading about the premise, I was expecting that this probably would be a boring movie where we would just be looking at a some guy watching his computer screen the whole time. BUT... when I started to understand why Elijah Wood was there and what was happening to him, before I even fully realized it, the film had literally seized me by the nuts in an iron grip, and would NOT let go until it has slapped me around and fully had it's way with me.That is just about the most concise way I can sum up my impression of the movie...What makes it work, of course, is the truly clever thought that the director has put into just exactly HOW to portray this movie in a way that will involve the audience. My guess would be that there must be a MILLION ways that he could have screwed this up and ruined it, but I can only surmise that he must have been up for it, because I can honestly say that it not only held me captive for the entire length of the film, but REALLY had me wondering at every turn just what the HELL was going to happen next.Once you get used to the format and style of the movie, really the ONLY thing that could possibly keep your interest is the story itself. And WHAT a story indeed...! Let me just say one thing. If you DO find the movie interesting, make bloody SURE that you watch it to the very end because there are some very nice twists and turns that really add to the effectiveness of the film. One thing I will say, without giving too much away, is that when the French guys first appeared, I thought that it was frigg'n hilarious. 'Are you Nevada...?'My humble suggestion is, please DON'T allow these know-it-all, pompous, Dickweed reviewers put you off by their arrogantly dismissive Summaries of 'Gimmicky' or 'Poorly written'... NOTHING could possibly be farther from the truth in my lowly and wretched opinion. YES, you might say that the format is very unique and uses a method that a very SHALLOW person could quickly leap to saying is a 'Gimmick' if they wanted to appear to be the 'Oh-So-Cool' reviewer. But, 'Gimmicks' are what William Castle used in his films, and they had NOTHING at all to do with the story and were just Cheeeeezy stunts to shock the audience. Here, the director chose a format that I personally think would be a HUGE challenge to do correctly in order for it to come across in just the right way to keep the audience's attention and to tell the story effectively. One Lame@ss reviewer actually states in his Summary something like 'Brilliant and inventive, ruined by Science Fiction' WHAT...?!! That's like saying in the original Star Trek, that just because some of the technology was pushing it a bit with Proton beams, Graviton fields, and of course the Transporters, that that made it total $hit...? Uh huh, right... How about having a little frigg'n IMAGINATION, Dumb@ss...?Sorry... just REALLY chaps my Willie...So, I would say that if you really don't like computers or computer-related stories / movies, then you might want to give this one a pass. BUT... if you have a really naive and sensitive imagination like I do and IF you can easily suspend disbelief (mainly with the technology used in the film) and if you like Computer / Cyber-centric Thrillers at all, then I think that there is a good chance that you will really enjoy this very clever and entertaining film...

Nacho Vigalondo's Open Windows opens on an extremely promising note plenty of twists , turns and surprises . This is a Techno-thriller that addresses questions of life , computers , fans and belief against a strange antagonist . A jilted fan called Nick Chambers (Elijah Wood) soon finds himself pulled into a twisted chase after he accepts the opportunity to spy on his favorite player called Jill Goddard (Sasha Grey) via his laptop . As it takes place on a variety of screens and locations using different types of footage . This Spanish/US co-production succeeds because of the thriller , tension , Kafkaesque suspense , as well as an interestingly written script concerning a complex intrigue in which our protagonists are in such extreme situation and their subsequent instinctive urges for survival . This laptop-set thriller deals with a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in which video cameras capture everything , and the internet has turned into a cesspool of surveillance that's hundred times more horrifying than Leatherface's dugout . We immediately see that the story is going to be told from some unorthodox perspectives as each scene is broadcast through a window on a computer monitor . Despite its average budget the picture manages to be intelligent , intriguing and thrilling but also a little bit boring and hard to follow . The good thing about this film is that the director made it on a limited budget only having to do a few sets , yet the movie works on many levels but is constantly reconfigured . Looking for a monologue from Elijah Wood you'll get it in the form of a confessional style Webcam appearance . There is here in separate windows featuring a Webcam feed , even the action sequences are showcased in this format . In spite of being technically a "Techno thriller", the film nods at everything from a technological world to Hitchcock to Giallo . The final result is an offbeat thriller that's captivating , in spite of not being all that fun or especially thoughtful , neither thought-provoking . The motion picture was original and innovately directed by Nacho Vigalondo . Here Nacho adapts to the times and find thriller/action/mystery in the ways people are living today . Filmmaker Vigalondo manages to not seem completely daft and he is attacking our vulnerability online by setting his Techno film entirely unsettling . This picture relatively cheap was tautly written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo in his third movie , his first was the international hit titled ¨Time crimes¨ with Karra Errejalde , Barbara Goenaga and going on ¨Extraterrestrial¨ with Michelle Jenner and Julián Villagrán , both of them showing up in ¨Open Windows¨ as guest stars . Nacho , who usually turns up in his movies at brief appearing , is a good young filmmaker , a little prolific director because being usually writer for television and shorts filmmaker , he has only realized three films . ¨Open windows¨ is without a doubt a weird , mysterious film to be liked for thriller and suspense fans , turning out to be one of the most original Spanish movies of the last years . Rating : 6 . Acceptable and passable .

I was attracted to this movie after hearing a brief description of format. The entire movie is seen via a laptop screen the central character web-chats and inadvertently spies on others via surveillance cameras and other technological methods which do not necessarily exist yet.This sci-fi aspect to the movie is probably my biggest quarrel with the movie. Though the technology was not so far-fetched as to be difficult to comprehend, I felt that it was a bit of a cheap considering the challenge the writer set himself in making a feature length movie observes exclusively through a monitor. Maybe it's my fault for going into the movie with this idea in my head, but I would have much preferred to see how a story can be told in this way without having to complicate things with technology which is currently beyond us. The movie is commendable for its invention and there are some genuinely tense and exciting scenes, in particular the car chase/getaway scenes which given the way the movie was shot, are unlike any other you may have seen before. Considering the prominence of web-chatting in many of our daily lives, I think there is room for others to attempt something else using this format. I would love to see some form of intense drama unfold using only Skype conversations and private messages - perhaps something reminiscent of the way this was successfully done entirely through a car telephone in Locke.