Open Windows

Plot synopsis:
Nick Chambers wins a contest to meet his favorite actress, Jill Goddard. Nick, the webmaster of a fansite dedicated to Jill, is crushed when Chord, Jill's manager, informs him that she has not only failed to invite him to the film's publicity but also canceled the contest. Chord remotely sends Nick a link to his laptop that opens a live stream. Chord explains that he has hacked into Jill's cell phone and activated the microphone and camera without her knowledge. Although uneasy about invading her privacy, Nick goes along with Chord's plans to spy on her. By eavesdropping on her phone conversations, they learn that she will secretly meet her agent, Tony, with whom she is having an affair, at the same hotel in which Nick is staying.
Chord directs Nick to use preexisting high end surveillance equipment to spy on Jill and Tony. As he watches them, Nick is briefly contacted by a trio of hackers who address him as Nevada. Jill leaves Tony's room. When Nick's lights spontaneously turn on and Tony can see the camera pointed at his room, Nick panics as Tony leaves his room to investigate. Chord orders Nick to use a Taser to incapacitate Tony. Feeling that he has no choice, Nick agrees. Nick initially refuses to tie up Tony but does so once Chord threatens to stop helping him. Suspicious of why all this equipment is available in his hotel room, Nick questions who Chord really is; Chord ignores him and guides him out of the hotel by hacking into its security system.
Chord blackmails Nick into further compliance by revealing that the entire contest was a hoax, and Chord now has video proof of Nick's crimes. Chord forces Nick to follow Jill to her house, and he is contacted once again by the trio of hackers, who believe Nick to be a famous hacker. They offer to help him in his latest hack, and Nick recruits them to counteract Chord. Meanwhile, Chord hacks into Jill's PC when she goes home. When Nick refuses to send her PC a file, Chord demonstrates that he is capable of sneaking into Jill's house and killing her.
The file turns out to be a live feed of Tony's torture by electric current. Horrified, Nick attempts to bargain with Chord for Tony's release, but Chord only tortures Tony further. Chord forces Nick to give commands to Jill through her PC, and Nick demands that she reveal her naked breasts. Satisfied with the resulting video, Chord breaks the connection. Nick frantically attempts to warn Jill, but she is kidnapped by Chord. With the help of the hackers, Nick pursues Chord. However, once they realize that Chord is apparently the master hacker Nevada, their loyalties are torn. Although they continue to help him, they warn Nick that Nevada is the best in the world and a veteran of numerous anarchist operations, though none have resulted in physical harm to anyone.
The hackers later discover that Chord has killed Nevada and taken his place. After both Nick and Chord throw off the police, Nick crashes his car, and Chord shoots him. Chord hacks into the entire Internet, and virtually every website is replaced with a teaser of Jill's revealing video. When the site goes live, Chord explains that instead of a sex tape, she will be killed live on the Internet unless her fans immediately close the browser window. The site's traffic increases dramatically, and Chord fakes her death at an abandoned factory. Jill plays along with Chord and says that she understands the point about society that he is making; however, when his guard is down, she flees.
Nevada reveals to Chord that he is still alive and has been impersonating Nick the whole time. The real Nick was safely hidden in Nevada's car trunk, and the whole scenario was an operation designed to flush out Chord. Nevada and Jill escape to safety in a bunker before explosives blow the factory, killing Chord in his own trap. Nevada and Jill discuss what to do next, and she asks to accompany him as he retreats back into the underground hacker movement.

Tags: suspenseful

Review: