LifeHack, the feature debut from 27-year-old Irish filmmaker Ronan Corrigan, premiered in the Narrative Spotlight competition at the SXSW Film Festival this March in Austin, Texas. Starring Netflix alums Georgie Farmer (Wednesday) and Yasmin Finney (Heartstopper), the film follows four tech-savvy teenagers who take on a high-stakes crypto heist, risking everything to outwit a billionaire in a world where every move leaves digital traces.
The film garnered a slate of excellent reviews that you can see in the amazing headlines and excerpts below:
DEADLINE: ‘LifeHack’ Review: Latest Movie In Computer Screenlife Genre Is Best Yet, A Rocking And Riveting Cryptocurrency Heist Film – SXSW
“For my money, this is hands down the best Screenlife movie yet, a dazzling marriage of online skill, clever storytelling, brilliant editing and acting within the confines of your computer screen that rivals the best of any heist film in recent years. This format is an ideal fit and takes the concept to new levels.”
VARIETY: ‘LifeHack’ Review: A Pulse-Pounding Screenlife Heist Film
“‘LifeHack’ finds deft balance between its heist elements and its quiet moments of character. All of these prove immensely entertaining. With a techno soundtrack that keeps thing propulsive, the movie never slows down, even when it takes a breather.”
FILM OBSESSIVE: LifeHack is Ocean’s 11 for the Discord Generation
“The film is the feature debut for director Ronan Corrigan (who shares a screenwriting co-credit) and screenwriter Hope Elliott Kemp, but you won’t be able to tell because LifeHack is thrilling. It’s a cyber heist that makes the most of the freedom the computer screen offers both the creative team and the characters in the film.”
NEXT BIG PICTURE: “LIFEHACK is a thrilling screenshare cyberheist film in which a group of highly intelligent Gen Z friends hack a tech billionaire’s crypto wallet simply because… well, screw him and they can! The best elements of “Searching” are all here, with a highly stressful yet entertaining storyline that is brilliantly conceived, edited, and acted. It’s a hilarious and terrifying reminder of just how vulnerable our cybersecurity is. Make sure to change those passwords!”
COLLIDER: Screenlife Movies Get Their Own Heist Film With This Fantastically Tense Thriller
“LifeHack is a captivating, exhilarating, and full-speed heist thriller that marks one hell of a feature debut. This Corrigan “kid’ has a bright future as a filmmaker, given how he conquers such a technique-driven subgenre with such completeness right out of the gate. Hacker culture meets terminally online mindsets for a new breed of cinema, thrusting audiences further into Hollywood’s next evolution. It’s a splendid screenlife interpretation that shines in its functionality, challenges formal moviemaking structures, but—most importantly—is a wild and crazy ride from start to finish.”
DEN OF GEEKS: New Screenlife Heist Movie Will Scare You Into Changing ALL Your Passwords
“We’ve seen screenlife horror films like Unfriended and Host, and screenlife thrillers like Searching and Missing, but LifeHack is taking the genre in a new direction by giving us what very well may be the first screenlife heist movie.”
INDIEWIRE: ‘LifeHack’ Review: A Merry Band of Crypto Thieves Attempt the Ultimate Heist Over FaceTime
“The internet is the closest thing these teenage cyberthieves have to a real life, and Corrigan’s dopamine onslaught of a film is an authentic portrait of the most alive they’ve ever been.”
NO FILM SCHOOL: “Lifehack is probably the best example of a screenlife movie to date.”
MORE ON THE FILM
The film comes from Hollywood producer Timur Bekmambetov, the creative force behind Unfriended (2015), Searching (2018), and Missing (2023). Bekmambetov, a pioneer of the screenlife format, has made a name for himself by telling stories that unfold entirely on digital screens, a method that has turned small-budget productions into box office successes, with Missing grossing $48.8 million on a $7 million budget, Searching earning $75 million, and Unfriended collecting $65 million on a $1 million budget.
The concept for LifeHack originated in 2021 during the Screenlife Accelerator, a talent development program launched in Liverpool by Bekmambetov and British producer Joann Kushner. Accelerator participants Corrigan and Hope Elliot Kemp wrote the screenplay and Corrigan shot a full previs of the film, which impressed Bekmambetov so much that he immediately greenlit the project. Kushner joined as a producer.
For nearly a decade, Timur Bekmambetov has been championing screenlife films in the mainstream movie industry. His innovative filmmaking approach earned his production company, Bazelevs, a spot on Fast Company’s list of the Top 10 Most Innovative Video Companies in the World in 2021. Bekmambetov has also expanded the Screenlife Accelerator globally, launching a new program in the UAE in partnership with Image Nation Abu Dhabi to cultivate digital filmmaking talent in the region. Additionally, he has released a textbook to guide aspiring filmmakers through the nuances of screenlife production.
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