Dashcam Review (2021)

Dashcam Synopsis

At the start of the pandemic, an indulgent and self-deluded livestreaming improv musician abandons L.A. for London, steals her ex-band mate’s car, and makes the wrong decision to give a ride to an elderly woman who is not what she seems.

My Thoughts on Dashcam

Dashcam is directed by Rob Savage, who also did Host, which I really enjoyed, so I had high hopes for this film. And after watching Dashcam, I’m still not entirely sure how I feel.

It’s one of those films that punches you in the face right out of the gate, and instead of apologizing, it just laughs and does it again. It’s messy, abrasive, and at times quite an exhausting watch.

To be clear, this isn’t your standard horror movie. This isn’t the kind of film that slowly builds atmosphere and lets the dread creep in like so many do. Dashcam is loud, fast, and borderline incoherent at times, but it’s all very intentional.

It feels like Rob Savage took a look at the way horror has become so streamlined and elevated and said, “Nope, we’re doing the opposite.” And honestly? Good. Because whatever else this film is, it’s not boring.

The entire thing is shot from the perspective of a livestream, which is nothing new in horror, but here it’s dialed to such an extreme that it becomes the entire identity of the movie. This isn’t just “found footage”, this is curated chaos masquerading as found footage.

The camera is constantly moving, the angles are disorienting, and half the time you can’t even tell what you’re looking at, which sounds like a criticism, and in some ways it is. But it does also add to the experience as well.

That brings me to Annie Hardy, who plays a version of herself in the film. Most horror protagonists are designed to be sympathetic, or at least understandable, but Annie is neither. She’s purposely infuriating.

The movie doesn’t want us to like her. It doesn’t care if we relate to her. If anything, it’s weaponizing her as a critique of the kind of people who made the pandemic worse for everyone else, the ones who turned public health into a personality.

And instead of punishing her for it immediately (which would be cathartic), the film makes us sit with her, experience the chaos through her lens, and ask ourselves how much of this is a result of her own ego and recklessness.

Dashcam taps into something very real – how the internet has warped our sense of empathy, how outrage and chaos have become currency, and how performative everything has become.

The livestream never stops. Annie never stops filming. And as the viewer, you’re forced to confront just how much we’ve all become spectators in our own disasters, and in that way, the film is quite deep and has some depth going for it.

It’s abrasive, intentionally alienating, and a movie that kind of feels like being screamed at for 75 minutes. But if you can get past the noise, there’s a lot going on underneath.

Would I watch it again? Honestly, probably not, as once was enough. But I’m glad I saw it. It challenged me, and gives you something worth talking about. Dashcam isn’t fun, but it’s worth a one time watch with some decent horror scenes thrown in among everything else going on.

Dashcam Trailer
Dashcam on IMDB

Dashcam Good Points

Bold Direction & Style – Rob Savage commits hard to the chaotic found-footage/livestream format, and it’s all quite relentless.

Cultural Commentary – Beneath the surface-level chaos, there’s pointed commentary on pandemic-era politics, internet narcissism, and the toxicity of performative online behavior.

Unapologetically Unique – Love it or hate it, Dashcam does something different. It’s not trying to blend in. It’s swinging big, and that kind of creative risk deserves recognition.

Dashcam Bad Points

Narrative Chaos – The plot often takes a backseat to style. It’s sometimes hard to follow what’s happening or why.

Style Over Substance – For all its ambition, Dashcam sometimes feels like it’s more interested in being loud and edgy than telling a cohesive, meaningful story.

Extremely Unlikeable Protagonist – Annie is obnoxious, offensive, and polarizing. Some will struggle to engage with the film simply because she’s so off-putting from start to finish.

Is Dashcam Worth Watching?

As mentioned above, I think while it is far from perfect, and has some issues, it’s quite interesting and worth a one time watch.

Where To Stream Dashcam?

Hulu

Dashcam Director and Cast

Director – Rob Savage

Main Cast – Annie Hardy, Amer Chadha-Patel, Angela Enahoro