Originally Posted: July 16, 2020   |   By: Ben O’Shea   |   The West Australian

Magazine Scans

It’s a measure of what sort of year it’s been that the release of Follow Me, a horror movie in the vein of the Saw franchise, can be seen as a lighthearted distraction. Its arrival in theatres this week marks the first horror movie to hit the big screen since the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of cinemas in March. The film centres on a American vlogger named Cole (Keegan Allen), whose unending (and arguably unhealthy) desire to get new content for his vast online fan- base sees him travel to Moscow with girlfriend Erin (Holland) Roden) and a bunch of mates. They do so at the invitation of the mysterious Alexei (Ronen Rubinstein), the son of a Russian oligarch, who has promised an unforgettable experience in a no-holds-barred escape room, where the friends must work together to get out or suffer dire consequences. Follow Me director Will Wernick also helmed 2017 horror/thriller Escape Room, and his new film has the requisite nailbiting sequences of characters desperately trying to outsmart fiendish death devices. But it’s the ending that really pulls the rug out from under you. It is so shocking, in fact, Rubinstein, pictured, remembers when he first heard about it. “Man, it’s such a twist, my reaction when I read the script, I was speechless. It’s such a good twist, it’s really going to mess people up.” the actor said.
“It really hit me hard when I saw (the finished film), and I was in it.” As Rubinstein sees it, the twist and the film itself raise interesting questions about the rise of influencer culture on social media. “That’s the most special thing about the film, the social themes underneath everything.” he says.

“It sort of asks the question of who are we in front of the camera, and what are we living for when it comes to social media what message and what person are we trying to convey-and it’s a really important question that we need to be asking now more than ever.” When it comes to his own social media presence, Rubinstein practises what he preaches. The actor, who we will soon see in 9-1-1: Lone Star alongside Rob Lowe and Liv Tyler when it airs on the Seven Network, uses Instagram to advocate for climate change, Black Lives Matter and LGBTI rights. Rubinstein says he’s lucky to live in California, far away from a certain orange-haired bloke in the White House, who many might like to see in a Russian escape room. “He’d never survive, man,” Rubinstein laughs.

Follow Me is now showing.