Synopsis
Columnist and author Femke is flooded with anonymous nasty messages and death threats on social media. One day she is completely done and decides to take revenge.
2019 ‘De Kuthoer’ Directed by Ivo van Aart
Columnist and author Femke is flooded with anonymous nasty messages and death threats on social media. One day she is completely done and decides to take revenge.
The Columnist is Dutch revenge story that’s ultimately a provocative satire that doesn't offer any answers but raises plenty of questions regarding free speech and how to deal with it. Directed by Ivo van Aart and starring Katja Herbers, Bram van der Kelen and Claire Porro, the story follows author Femke, who is flooded with anonymous nasty messages and death threats on social media after one of her columns causes a stir. Then one day she has enough and decides to take revenge.
Ivo van Aart's film is in no way a bad one with the dark, bleak atmosphere enveloping me throughout the runtime to the point it physically made me uncomfortable and star Katja Herbers puts in a brilliant…
CIFF 2020: film #1
“you know what? it isn’t hard to be kind”
oh this was FUN and probably the best portrayal of social media paranoia (and anger) that i’ve seen. i feel like i say this a lot now but i’m gonna say it again, this would have been a blast with a festival audience
Imagine Bridget Jones replacing Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and you have the gist of The Columnist.
Unfortunately, there is just enough content here for a 30 minute Tales from the Crypt episode, so things get pretty dull, pretty fast.
Ever thought about hitting a Twitter troll in the head with a frying pan and then cutting one of his typing fingers off? Well, The Columnist executes just that, letting the audience live that fantasy through Femke Boot (Katja Herbers), an author, columnist, and single mother who’s been getting hate messages and death threats over a column she wrote. In director Ivo van Aart’s third feature written by Daan Windhorst characters ask questions like, “Why can’t we just have different opinions and be nice about it?” and say that words are just words, the internet isn’t real, and it’s as simple as, her boyfriend (Bram van der Kelen) says, never reading the comments. But like Femke, most of us can’t…
you are what is wrong with this world you and your whole army of losers with the laptop...
Having people say nasty things about you online is fucked up and if it would be great if people who did shit like this got there comeuppance.. maybe not killed but just like robbed or slapped around a little ...
Fantasia 2020: Film #1
Naturally, I started my Fantasia experience with this one. Online trolls? BOY, DO I KNOW ABOUT THOSE. While it definitely walks the line between thriller and comedy in the beginning, things get darker as the film goes on and the sharp commentary on internet culture and hypocrisy becomes even more obvious.
Fantasia Festival 2020: Film 12
I bet the filmmakers are furious the title Troll Hunter was taken.
FrightFest Day #2 gets off to a decent start with an unusual Dutch take on cyber bullying wrapped up in a darkly comic revenger. I thought it might be painfully NOW reading the synopsis, but it's always slightly distanced from reality and doesn't ram its messaging down your throat or fall too much on the side of its protagonist. It doesn't miss a beat in the irony stakes; outspoken feminist column writer Femke Boot (pronounced 'boat', meaning boat) gunning down one of many haters as her daughter reads out an article she wrote in defence of free speech. As The Middle Finger Murderer, Femke is seen to be as much of a hypocrite as a symbol of female empowerment and…
Ppl of all ages get online and say all sorts of fucked up shit behind the comfort of their keyboard. But disgruntled writer Femke Boot is tired of having ppl spread lies about her online so she sets out to put an end to the lies and the faces behind them. Off with their heads!
Fuck internet trolls. Fuck Twitter's cancel culture. Fuck anybody who sits around on Facebook arguing for hours about their political views and whatnot. Don't be mean to ppl just cause u can. A new heroine is in town and her name is Femke Boot: The Middle Finger Killer! This was a fun watch.
Also watch Femke Boot(aka Katja Herbers) on the horror TV series EVIL, she's great in it and the show is damn good.