Film

Cyberbully

Name: Cyberbully
Genre: Drama, Thriller, TV Movie
Released: 2015
Cast: Maisie Williams, Ella Purnell, Haruka Abe, Jake Davies, Daisy Waterstone

Other titles called Cyberbully: the 2011 film.

Thriller
Very dark
Relentless

A lean, real-time thriller about a teenage girl hunted by an anonymous online stalker. Shot largely in one location with minimal cuts, it builds dread through dialogue and the slow violation of digital privacy. Urgent and claustrophobic, designed for viewers who find psychological tension more terrifying than jump scares.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a tense, claustrophobic thriller about online harassment that plays out in close, unvarnished detail, and you don't mind a story that leans on a single emotional pressure point.

Skip it if you want a sprawling plot or a lot of breathing room, since it runs a tight sixty-two minutes and spends its energy on one teenager's rising panic rather than on wider context.

What it asks of you: Sixty-two minutes of mostly screens, close faces and mounting dread, with little relief between escalations, so it asks you to stay locked in from start to finish.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Unfriended2014

A computer-screen thriller where a group of friends are terrorized by a vengeful spirit during a video call. Like Cyberbully, it mines genuine horror from the spaces where we feel safe—our own devices—and sustains tension through pure restraint.

But The gimmick of watching a screen for 82 minutes can feel exhausting rather than immersive, and the premise borders on silly when you step back from it.

Cam2018

A webcam performer discovers someone has stolen her identity and taken over her stream. It shares Cyberbully's focus on violation through screens and the helplessness of being impersonated in your own digital life.

But Deliberately uncomfortable to watch and makes its protagonist deeply unsympathetic at times, which some find alienating rather than compelling.

Searching2018

A father searches for his missing daughter entirely through computer screens—Google searches, social media, security footage. The same real-time digital-forensics tension as Cyberbully, but with higher emotional stakes and smarter twists.

But Feels like a gimmick film that justifies itself only partially; some find the conceit more clever than the story it contains.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Cyberbully

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Eighth Grade2018

Both understand that the real danger of digital life for teenagers isn't always the predator—it's the impossible pressure of constant visibility and the erosion of privacy as a human need.

Bo Burnham's directorial debut follows a 13-year-old navigating social anxiety through YouTube videos and group chats. It captures the specific claustrophobia of living your adolescence online with more empathy and humor than any thriller. The terror here is social and internal, not external.

But Deliberately awkward and uncomfortable to watch; Burnham's commitment to authenticity means there are no easy cathartic moments or clear resolutions.

Her Body2023

A teenager's leaked intimate images spiral into blackmail and psychological terror. Grounded in contemporary digital abuse rather than supernatural threats, it shares Cyberbully's focus on how quickly online cruelty can become violent and inescapable.

But Extremely grim subject matter handled without reprieve or catharsis; genuinely distressing even when the craftsmanship is solid.

Sick2022

Two young people stalked by an unseen killer during lockdown. Like Cyberbully, it's a confined-space thriller that builds dread through isolation and the knowledge that help may not come in time.

But The pandemic setting feels dated now, and the plot relies on characters making increasingly stupid decisions to maintain tension.

Hush2016

A deaf writer alone in her home is hunted by a masked killer. Same single-location nightmare logic as Cyberbully—vulnerability weaponized, no escape route, nowhere to hide.

But Very violent and brutal in ways that aren't earned by character or story; shock value doing the heavy lifting instead of craft.

The Circle2017

A young woman joins a tech company obsessed with transparency and surveillance. Explores the same digital vulnerability as Cyberbully but zooms out to systemic invasion rather than personal stalking.

But Clumsy and preachy where it should be subtle; characters exist to make points rather than feel like people.

Ingrid Goes West2017

A woman becomes dangerously obsessed with an influencer and methodically insinuates herself into her life. The mirror image of Cyberbully—the predator's perspective, but with enough unease to make it thriller rather than comedy.

But Aubrey Plaza's performance can feel so detached that you lose emotional connection to anyone on screen, which undermines the psychological stakes.

Oxygen2021

A woman wakes in a cryogenic chamber with no memory and limited oxygen. The same real-time, single-location pressure cooker as Cyberbully, sustained almost entirely through performance and dialogue.

But The twist ending feels contrived and slightly ridiculous in retrospect, and the high concept does more work than character development.

Inside Out 22024

Both are thrillers about teenagers whose private digital lives become public weapons, told through the screens themselves, with climaxes dependent on the victim understanding their attacker better than anyone else.

The sequel to Cam deepens its exploration of digital identity theft and performance as survival. Expands the mythology while maintaining the intimate, inescapable dread of watching your online self become weaponized.

But Assumes familiarity with the first film; less focused than its predecessor and sometimes feels like it's chasing ideas rather than developing them.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always2020

Both see teenage girls as subjects with complex inner lives rather than victims waiting for rescue. Both resist the impulse to make their stories sensational or to punish them for being young.

A quiet, observational film about two teenage girls navigating reproductive healthcare and autonomy. Sounds unrelated to Cyberbully, but it shares the film's commitment to taking teenage girls' interior lives seriously and its refusal to sentimentalize their vulnerability.

But Deliberately slow and deliberately not dramatic; asks patience for stillness, and some viewers find the pacing punitive rather than meditative.