Vague Visages’ Going Viral review contains minor spoilers. Vincent Vittorio’s 2024 movie features Corey Feldman, Shea Pritchard and Aline O’Neill. Check out the VV home page for more film criticism, movie reviews and film essays.

Writers Kevin Greene and Todd Pringle sprinkle classic 1980s movie tropes throughout Going Viral, a film about fame-hungry teenagers. The main character holds onto the back of a car while skateboarding like Marty McFly from 1985’s Back to the Future, and “boing” drum sounds punctuate comedic moments like John Hughes movies. All the typical teen movie archetypes are present in Going Viral: Shea Pritchard as the nerdy Beckett, Matt Alea as his goofy sidekick Jay, Alexis Moscoso as an overlooked friend named Carly and Aline O’Neill as the blonde beauty Hope. The young actors all deliver fantastic performances, giving their characters an honesty that makes them seem real and lived in — more than just tropes. 

While Going Viral visually nails the 1980s era, the narrative throws a strange curveball. The teens are obsessed with a handheld device called VTV, which looks like a cross between a Game Boy and an iPhone, where you film and share videos in the hopes of becoming famous. Sound familiar? Beckett becomes addicted to creating naughty prank clips that will rocket him to popularity and stardom — the same type of absurd content we are bombarded with on a daily basis through YouTube and TikTok.

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The 1980s aesthetic of Going Viral is a loving homage — more Stranger Things (2016-) than VH1’s Totally Awesome (2006). Michael Henaghan’s cinematography is bright and pastel-tinged without seeming cheesy, capturing the whimsical, adventurous spirit of the film that director Vincent Vittorio so lovingly crafts. Jasmine Herbert’s costuming also manages to make the over-exaggerated styles of the decade feel natural, instead of looking like Halloween costumes. Even Beckett’s sister exercises in bold, Barbie-colored lycra and leg warmers.

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While we shouldn’t romanticize the past, there’s still an innocence to a pixelated, analog world that feels far removed from the rabid fixations that plague our modern society: becoming an influencer, constantly churning out content and amassing thousands of followers and likes. It’s quite jarring to see characters from what is supposed to be a more digitally innocent time behave this way. Is Going Viral suggesting that this kind of technology would have had the same hypnotic effect on teenagers no matter the decade? The intention is muddled, and the VTV presence sucks all the fun of being immersed in the 1980s setting, leaving viewers to wonder if Going Viral would have worked better as a contemporary story.

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Beckett makes a deal with Mr. Viral (Louis Labovitch), an AI that looks straight out of The Matrix (1999) with his black suit and glasses. The actor’s stony face and smarmy voice make him a thoroughly creepy villain. It’s quite disarming to hear the 1980s characters talk about AI so casually. If this technology and influencer culture was actually present in the 1980s, where the hell would we be today? This ultimately took me out of Going Viral’s joyful and throwback style.

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Going Viral moves swiftly to an exciting climax, a cross between WarGames (1983) and Weird Science (1985) via Mr. Viral’s neon-infused digital world. The special effects feel hokey and unrealistic, but they completely fit with the rudimentary technology of the era. Other images of a kid trapped inside a computer, with his face becoming a blur of pixels pushing against the screen, are genuinely freaky.

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The highlight of Going Viral is an appearance from Corey Feldman as a former child video star named Samurai. As the hermit-turned-mentor guiding the kids to help defeat Mr. Viral, the famous 80s actor doesn’t phone in his performance one bit. Feldman uses great physical comedy with his shifting, suspicious eyes and a gravelly voice that punctuates his cynicism and deadpan humor. His presence also provides a nice dose of 1980s nostalgia. Aside from its off-kilter science fiction elements and generational confusion, Going Viral is an amusing and playful romp that will remind viewers of everything wonderful about the 1980s.

Going Viral released digitally on December 20, 2024.

Caroline Madden (@crolinss) is the author of Springsteen as Soundtrack. She’s also a film critic who has written for Screen Queens, Reverse Shot, IndieWire and more. Caroline is the editor-in-chief of Video Librarian. Thank you for reading film criticism, movie reviews and film reviews at Vague Visages.

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