Cyberstalker (V) (2012) User Reviews

Stalking Aidan

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 21 January 2015]

Cyberstalker also known as Offline is a made for cable Lifetime television film starring Mischa Barton who plays Aidan whose parents were murdered 13 years earlier. The killer was never caught which still taxes the detective in charge. Now she spends time as a reclusive artist but it seems the cyberstalker is back to terrorise her.

The film is low budget, quickly shot, formulaic but rather watchable if you switch your brain offline. The culprit could only be the characters we have been introduced to which could be the detective, her new boyfriend, the Svengali gallery owner or the wheelchair bound computer expert newly employed by the police.

I reckon there is no need for Columbo or Sherlock to solve this whodunit. There is plenty of silliness as our cyberstalker can hack into and control traffic lights for example. Still Lifetime know which audience to aim their films at, its female friendly with enough thrills to keep you mildly entertained.

Could Have Been Good, But...

[Stoshie · 3/10 · 31 August 2020]

...they telegraphed who the bad guy was. I mean, the instant the person appeared on screen, I knew it was the killer/stalker. That ruined any sense of suspense the movie could have had. So there was nothing else to keep my interest after that. It was especially bad since it happened relatively early in the film.

The technique of always hiding the bad guys' face throughout the movie just affirmed who it was. That was just very poor writing.

Another reviewer here said "The filmmakers kept the audience guessing about his identity". meaning the identity of the bad guy. Are you kidding me? Anyone who didn't know who the bad guy was as soon as they appeared should be ashamed of themselves. Judging by the number of high ratings in some of the reviews here, lots of people share that shame.

Overuse of intense music build up

[sgeiger78 · 3/10 · 17 April 2023]

This this movie uses way too much intense music to the buildup of absolutely nothing. Every few minutes that intense music comes on it's very annoying. So I'm going to have a hard time trying to get through this movie but I started it so I must finish unfortunately I'm about to lose 2 hours of my life for a movie I would not recommend. However I'm not a person that takes people's opinions and doesn't watch a movie because they say it sucks so have a looksee and see what you think. Can't believe that when the film was reviewed prior to being released somebody didn't say wait a minute you're using way too much music buildup for nothing.

Undeveloped Character and Plot

[blingatme · 1/10 · 11 April 2013]

This is a terrible movie. I watch a lot of movies and this one has no real life base.

It's one thing to try and scare people into being careful, but it's another to totally shield the audience from reality.

The cinematography is totally horrible. I am still not sure what Lifetime Channel had hoped to achieve form this movie.

Even the leading actress is working half way - - at no point do we see her authentic self.

Was it the company? The production? or the writers?

I have no clue. But I feel like I want my dollar back from red-box (it was that bad).

A budget of $1.8 million? Please tell me nooooooo.

[diddleysquat-1 · 1/10 · 2 December 2012]

(I'm not sure this is a spoiler but don't want to take chances.)

***************

Nothing in this movie makes sense. The stalker breaks in by decoding the burglar alarm, lies down in the girl's bed, drops a cell phone that somehow clues the parents (with a few numbers) that the alarm system has been breached. He then emerges to kill the girl's parents and in a flash he's gone.

Next we go to a scene 13 years later where a detective is still struggling to solve what would have been a very cold case. And the home invader, well, he's still at it.

Did the script writer expect us to believe that a cell phone app could turn a series of deadbolt locks at the apartment of a tech-phobe who wouldn't get near anything related to electronics? Yes, we're talking plain old brass deadbolt locks. Step right up suckers. See him turn them from the outside using a cell phone!

And, yes, he manages murder the woman's only friend (her therapist) by messing with the walk light at a busy intersection. Another cell phone app, it seems. You'd think the lead character would have reacted with some sadness. Well, don't expect logic here.

It took at least a month to film this piece of pure rubbish. How do I know? The lead actress's hair is blonde to the roots in some scenes and has a one-centimeter outgrowth of untreated hair in others. That takes a month.

A budget of under $2 million is low for movies, I know. But it should be enough for an $8 bottle of hair dye. Never mind. Not worth it.

Worst TV movie I've seen outside the intentionally-bad SciFi channel stuff. Ghastly awful.

Laughable

[MyPointOfView123 · 1/10 · 10 December 2020]

I couldn't make it last the first 15 minutes. Terrible acting!!!!

Train wreck

[dontspammyjunk · 1/10 · 30 December 2014]

This film was one of the worst I have ever seen. Felt like a made for TV low budget poorly acted film. Honestly I kept watching it because it was like a train wreck. It was like they had gone to a film school and said, now we have a really poor idea for a film, do you want to act in it for free and make a film so terrible you will be embarrassed to put it on your cv, and they all said yes. I would be beyond mortified if I had been a part of that film. Worst of all is that you never find out how/why the stalker started stalking her in the first place. Truly truly terrible. Not even sure what to write now to fill in how much I didn't like this film. For me it was right down there with Blair Witch Project.

Embarrassing

[lat1008 · 1/10 · 16 September 2012]

I could only describe movie as completely absurd and predictable. The way that the killer seems to have the ability to control the entire world from his laptop is laughable. The big reveal at the end was obvious half way through. In one scene, the killer places surveillance cameras in the main characters apartment in places that are so obvious, he could have hung signs on the wall pointing them out. In another ridiculous scene, he somehow takes control of city cameras to locate his victim then manipulates cross walk signals to send her in to the path of an on coming truck. I realize that this was a small budget Lifetime movie but, unfortunately, this seems to be typical of what the network has become. I really wanted to like it because I was an OC fan and I like Mischa Barton. I hope that she makes better script choices in the future.

Wasn't terrible.

[hunterjpetrick · 6/10 · 9 August 2019]

I'm giving this 6 stars and even that's a little bit of a stretch. For a lifetime flick it had some bigger ticket actors and actresses. Wasn't the worst film of all time. I'd recommend if you have a lazy day and you're bored.

Poor

[garyphillimore · 4/10 · 1 November 2019]

Not a bad storyline however the acting is awful, not one decent actor amongst them all sadly

Liked it

[lookwhosknocking · 9/10 · 19 September 2012]

I'm a sucker for these Lifetime popcorn movies and Cyberstalker is another fun one. I used to think it was cool to have good looking guys stalking me online, now not so much LOL. Dan Levy as the ultimate computer nerd puts in a great performance as does the dreamy Marco Grazzini as Ms OC's boyfriend.

I found myself yelling at the screen "Don't go in there" a couple times, which I'm sure freaked out my neighbors haha. I was torn on the whodunnit, still always thinking that it was going to turn back to the art dealer (great interrogation scene performance by the way). The last shot I wasn't sure if they were setting it up for a sequel or just saying that we're all being watched all the time. Ambiguous can be good I guess. It definitely got me to check the locks on my door a couple extra times before I went to bed.

As most of these movies, it suffers from budget issues but that's the nature of the LMN beast. Where it lacks in production value, it makes up for in good old suspenseful fun.

Not wooden at all

[VKintheUK-83-552768 · 1/10 · 1 May 2020]

Calling this amateur diy product wooden wouldn't be a fair estimate and an insult to many a wooden production. Wooden is way more flexible compared to this. Whatever the recipe, the served dish lacked absolutely everything, from story to acting. Pity I can't give it a minus.

Awful.

[maydregirl · 2/10 · 17 March 2021]

Literally the worst acting, and the fact it is so miscast made it even worse. Two stars instead of one since it was bad enough to made me right a review

"A Man With Nothing is a Very Dangerous Animal"

[lavatch · 5/10 · 13 January 2020]

"Cyberstalker" (a.k.a., "Offline") was wooden in the acting, scripting, and cinematic values. Produced in 2012, the film has the feel of a much older, routine type of "stalker" film. Even the specialized term of "Cybercrimetics" seemed old-fashioned and even comical.

The action unfolded around the character of Aiden Ashley, who, as a teenager, was being stalked by a psychopath. The film portrays the teenage Aiden as a brat. When her parents instruct her to avoid turning on the computer, due to the cyberstalker, she proceeds immediately to turn on the machine and leave it on. She perhaps unintentionally contributes to the deaths of her parents when the stalker enters the home and murders them.

The action then pivots forward thirteen years, where Aiden is now a successful artist remaining under the radar. Yet, due to her success, the stalker returns, and the Philly police move into action to protect her and locate the cyberstalker.

The dialogue often seemed strained with lines like Van Gogh's "there is nothing more artistic than to love others" and the admission that "a man with nothing is a very dangerous animal." In filming, the extensive use of close-ups often resulted in unflattering "big heads" appearing on the screen. There was little credible chemistry between the two lovers, Aiden and Paul Rogers.

The solitary strength of the film was in the character development of the villain. The filmmakers kept the audience guessing about his identity. Yet there were loose ends by the finale, especially the outcome of Detective Page, who had tirelessly worked to protect Aiden.

The filmmakers wanted us to know that "Cyberstalker" was inspired by true events and that 3.4 million a year are stalked, with a 25% outcome in some form of violence. But the film never sustained enough credibility in the realities of stalking victims to rise above the level of a mediocre crime thriller.

Missing A Lot of the Backstory

[brynnkeel · 4/10 · 10 June 2022]

This movie was alright. I wish they gave us more of a backstory or had flashbacks of when the cyberstalking began or even how he found her. I feel like that would've given the characters the opportunity to grow more than they did.

Who's Giving This Movie A9?

[Mehki_Girl · 1/10 · 17 January 2023]

This is awful. The sound quality sounds like they dubbed the voices after the fact.

Trying to pass off the lead as a teenager at the beginning was laughable. The acting is god awful. The lines are god awful. Everyone sounds like they're in rehearsal and reading their awful lines.

It's cringe. The premise is okay, especially given the reality of cyberstalkers, but the delivery is awful.

Who gave the, I hesitate to say "actress", this ex model a movie role. Who was she schtupping? She must have been a lousy lay, because this is pure amateur hour.

Everyone in the schlock, don't give up your day jobs. No way this is a 9 or even a 4, it's a big fat 0.

Looking for something decent to watch...

Dedicated stalker plays the long game

[Chase_Witherspoon · 5/10 · 2 March 2024]

Simple but mildly effective thriller starring Barton as a once carefree young woman stalked by a maniac for thirteen years, struggling to adjust to society whilst her tormentor remains on the loose. Whilst the game's up prematurely, it's still fun finding out how many of those close to Barton will suffer the consequences by association.

Whilst she's perhaps better known for her off-screen exploits, Barton knows how to act and she makes it look effortless as it should; she's timid as the character would be in the circumstances, but doesn't overact the part. Lea playing the dedicated detective is reliable in support, and there's a range of would-be suspects to entice the patient viewer, although the answer isn't especially well disguised, and waiting for a red herring which never appears is disappointing.

Low budget but appropriate for a telemovie, this Canadian thriller lacks logic but achieves its aim of a few cheap thrills and is elevated by Barton's balanced performance.

Decent

[valensia3000 · 9/10 · 19 September 2012]

Based (or maybe inspired by is more appropriate) on a true story, Cyberstalker puts a modern spin on a traditional Fatal Attraction type story as we find a man obsessed using the internet and technology to stalk, harass, and ultimately kill Mischa Barton's character Aidan.

To me, it was reminiscent of Untraceable with Diane Lane but on a smaller scale. Surely shot in Canada, Cyberstalker has its ups and downs and a few good twists.

Notable standout performance are put in by Marco Grazzini and Mark Caven.

It was better than I expected it to be and is worth the watch if you like TV thrillers or mysteries.

Mischa makes this better than the usual

[phd_travel · 8/10 · 12 February 2019]

Mischa Barton looks good here and she is a good actress often better than needed form the movies she is in. Her fear looks real.

This fast paced Lifetime thriller is more exciting than average. It starts quite scary as her parents are killed. Then she hides for years and has a new identity but now he is back. It's quite exciting as the detective starts looking at all possible suspects.

Wish Lifetime would use her for more movies.

comfortable

[Kirpianuscus · 10 May 2019]

It is nice. Just nice because it is the good choice after a work day. Three things are good in its case- the splendid predictability- you know the hustler too easy, Mischa Burton and, maybe, the smile and pectorals of Marco grazzini. Low budget, not high ambitions, a comfortable story, absurde, full of cliches, decent. And it is enough for see it out of expectations.