It was The Truman Show way back in 1998 that gave us an unwitting hint of the future. Jim Carrey as a man unwittingly under surveillance as part of a TV show with every moment of his existence stage managed. The film preceded Big Brother by two years which then opened the flood gates for every feckless fame hungry f**kwit and now we society funds itself in the age of the influencer! And in Babystar the influencers are a family of three : mum Stella (Bea Brocks) whose always on brand , dad Chris (Lilliom Lewald), jug eared, man bunned and with the sort of face that would see him being right swiped on Tindr so much he should have whiplash and then there’s daughter Luca (Maja Bons) a 16 year old whose every waking minute has been a monetized moment for her parents, even her own birth, which she finds online.
Babystar but not for much longer…
But for Luca it’s all to change when her parents tell her they’re going to have another child and for her parents this is another private moment that’s monetizable especially as Luca is so virulently against the idea of a sibling. So she rebels against her parents by moving out of the vacuous characterless home that so accurately reflects the family inside.
She blags her way into a hotel – yes, that favourite influencer line about being able to promote or condemn the place with one Instagram post rings true. From this point Luca auditions couples to adopt her while her parents hide the family strife from their online audience that would have had social services knocking at the door if they didn’t have to pay a subscription fee first.
Its influence….
Babystar is a satirical horror from writer–director Joscha Bongard on the rise of the influencer where the whole family willingly open up their lives in the sterile minimalist house they live in and never seem to leave. It’s a premise that’s long overdue a mauling but Babystar swerves from an all out comic assault and equally swerves any real examination of the psychological effect of the parents lifestyle choices on Luca. Consequently there’s no laugh out loud moments nor are there tear stained tantrums and tirades leaving the film in a neutral limbo. There’s a lot to like in Babystar but equally there’s a lot of missed opportunities too.
related feature : Brianna Lee on ‘The Troll’, cyberbullying, and the dark side of internet fame
related feature : ‘Die before you die’ – an influencer takes it to extremes!
Here’s the trailer…….
