Caught in the Net

A horror documentary. It’s horror not because such “predators” exist, but because of HOW MANY of them exist. What’s the response to that? Track down and lock up thousands or even tens of thousands of men, who are often probably fathers and the breadwinners of their families? That probably won’t work. But perhaps the hype that has grown up around this film will put the brakes on their outrages, at least for a couple of years. Klusák and Chalupová handled it superbly. I appreciate the ideas such as the clarification of the “nice face” to the strains of pleasant music and the last scene, which takes the escalating tension of the whole film to an emotional level, until the viewer’s hands tremble together with those of the filmmakers in front of the camera. (07/29/2020)

No matter what anyone says, this is a documentary that really makes sense. According to public feedback, it seems to be opening people's eyes. The most shocking thing to me is to find out how many perverts and sexual predators are around underage girls on social media. Unfortunately, the internet age is already choosing its victims and society should be careful not to make them too big. (85%) (05/31/2021)

Well, the fact that the Internet is full of predators and it should be clear to all parents that their spawn should be careful in these waters. Those who don’t get it had better not have children, as they’d clearly be useless in protecting them against external threat. But I felt much worse when I put myself in the shoes of a typical predator. Can't a guy show his dong to a hot twelve-year-old without having to worry about it being a nasty scam, with an entire film crew watching, and the girl actually being at least twenty years old? Ew, I'd feel like a gerontophile! But, on a more serious note; I don't mind when a film is disgusting, I’m not in the habit of avoiding porn (what a nice euphemism I came up with) but watching this didn’t make me feel easy at all. It was intense and hats off to all three "twelve-year-olds" for how they managed to bear it and the creator for a really worthwhile idea. A powerful experience and a clear five stars, I'm just not sure if some parents will realize that the fault is not only with those mental cripples... (11/30/2020)

Caught In the Net will surely go down in the history of Czech documentary filmmaking (if it hasn’t already), because it deals with (how else) a very hot topic that I hope will not leave many viewers cold. Watching this straightforward probe into the virtual world of sexual predators, you will say WTF?! The makers and actresses definitely deserve a big thank you for their courage to tackle such an issue and translate it to the screen in an appealing and instructive way. In the course of a hundred minutes, you encounters all sorts of individuals, from perfectly harmless people to utter moral scum without a shred of empathy or judgement. I hope that the message of this bold undertaking will not go to waste and will make many people think. (02/28/2020)

Clean marketing and filmmaking work. Klusák and Chalupová have delivered such an unpleasant, funny, understandable, simple and emotionally instructive title to overcome the traditional limitations of documentaries, which demand active cooperation and deeper empathy from the viewer. Like the "opening of a discussion" it's "cool ammo for memes and internet humor". It does not convey anything revolutionary and it does not discover anything stimulating, but it reliably draws you in, and perhaps it will lead to changes beyond the momentary event. The best moment of the documentary is the conclusion, which shows that mere "moral outrage" is not enough to humiliate the predator and drive him into a corner. That's the whole tragedy. (02/29/2020)