'Natalie_Net' is on Amazon Prime: When Passion Beats Money

Streaming has opened the doors to a huge variety of cinematographic works that, otherwise, would have perished in the darkest of oblivion. Amazon Prime is one of the strongest video-on-demand platforms today and, aware of the potential it holds to bring us closer to different aspects of the seventh art, it has not missed the opportunity to resurrect ‘Natalie_Net’. After passing through some national festivals Like the Nocturna de Madrid, ‘Natalie_Net’ had to wait up to 5 years to reach the public. A film filmed with little budget that fought against the traditional structure of the industry, showing that without financing it is also possible to make a film. Both Amazon Prime and Filmin have hosted the debut feature by Chico Morera, a Spanish youtuber who rose to fame for his particular film reviews and who, as a professional in celluloid, did not want to be defeated by the imperious limitations of money. Communication reaches the cinema Chico Morera created his own YouTube channel to, from irony and critical analysis, question film premieres week after week. The reception of his publications gradually grew, until he became one of the most emblematic figures of the platform in our country. However, it was Sara G who really took the success within YouTube, surpassing half a million subscribers on her channel, where she shared her own vlog and earned the media attention of the digital age. Both figures, as director and actress, converged on the realization of ‘Natalie_Net’, an “underground” film that was released in 2015.A cry of rebellion to the film industry that showed the weight that 21st century communication was beginning to take, so dependent on YouTube at that time and, now, on Twitch. Because emerging stars no longer need the big studios or production companies on duty, but have found the relevant impact on the web to execute their works.In this way, without more than one euro than necessary, Chico Morera and his team they got down to work to make one of the most enigmatic low-budget films. Amazon Prime and Filmin have appreciated the hard work behind a filming without means and, five years after the play put an end to it, streaming has given it a place in the world of cinema that it was begging for so much. ”And the ambition of the experimental Every low-budget film has the overwhelming challenge of making a defect its virtue, playing with its own aesthetic that has nothing to envy to Hollywood blockbusters. Despite the fact that “underground” cinema is never going to address itself directly to the great masses, the fact of having a distribution in streaming like that of Amazon Prime gives directors the necessary freedom to focus on a specific target audience. The film tells the story of a young youtuber who, like her interpreter, has a vast legion of subscribers. However, after a virus enters your computer, you will experience a mutation that will take you on an odyssey of terror, violence and surrealism. An interesting proposal that tries to make the most of the available means that the limited technical and creative team had.’Natalie_Net’ drinks directly from the cyberpunk format in the purest Cronenberg style in ‘Videodrome’. Chico Morera, a staunch admirer of this director, tries to emulate the aesthetics and narrative of the film, adapting it to the technological trends of our time. To do this, you do not need more than a few locations where you can clearly appreciate the decoration and lighting work, creating an environment marked by decadence and claustrophobia. But the film’s tints go beyond the creator of ‘The Fly’, even finding tributes to another of the more independent masters of horror: Rob Zombie.One of the worst defects of the film, on the contrary, is the lack of awareness you seem to have about limitations. While it is true that the visual proposal is surprisingly functional, with special effects that do not detract in the least, the narrative tends to lose itself within its own universe, trying to encompass more than is physically possible. Chico Morera manages to get all the juice out of his idea and shows that it can be made an impact without the need for financial backing. A debut feature that has allowed him to enter the industry and, also, shed a halo of hope to all the emerging filmmakers in the country. ‘Natalie_Net’ may not be for everyone; But if independent cinema arouses your interest, Amazon Prime puts it at your disposal.