Simran Hans 

Profile review – daft computer-bound terrorist thriller

This drama about journalist trying to entrap an Isis recruiter is told entirely through Facebook and Skype
  
  

Valene Kane and Shazad Latif in Profile.
Valene Kane and Shazad Latif in Profile. Photograph: © 2021 Focus Features

An indie cover of Daft Punk’s Get Lucky isn’t the only thing that’s awkwardly dated about this enjoyably bonkers thriller, which plays out entirely on a computer screen. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, who produced pioneering “screenlife” films Unfriended and Searching, it uses a combination of Facebook and Skype – the year is, after all, 2014 – to tell the lurid story of a freelance reporter who sets out to catfish a hunky Isis recruiter (Shazad Latif) in the hopes of securing a staff job.

The ratcheting tension is sadly punctured by unintentionally hilarious scenes of ambitious “research” by journalist Amy (Valene Kane), mostly involving frantic Googling and YouTube tutorials on “how to look younger”.

Watch a trailer for Profile.
 

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