Film studios are increasingly using virtual reality (VR) as a tool for movie advertisement, immersing fans into the action and theme of the latest blockbuster. There’s been The Martian with The Martian VR Experience and due to launch tomorrow at Madame Tussauds New York will be Ghostbusters: Dimension for the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot. Following this trend is NERVE from Lionsgate, a thriller where people are watchers or players.
Los Angeles-based VR company SilVRthread has created an immersive app for the film, who’s plot revolves around a new online game called NERVE. In it Emma Roberts stars as Vee a high school senior pressured into signing up for the game. During the sign-up she has to choose whether to be a player or watcher. Players can win money by doing dares sent by the watchers, and naturally everything starts out fine but then things begin to go from bad to worse.
In one of the scenes Vee has to walk across a ladder that’s suspended high up between two buildings in New York City. The NERVE app recreates this scene for everyone to experience on their smartphone in VR, with either Vee or her friend Syd (played by Emily Meade) as playable characters. Real 360-degree video was shot and stitched together to make the experience as adrenaline fuelled as possible. The NERVE VR Experience should be downloadable for iOS and Android platforms for use with Google Cardboard or similar headsets, as well as Samsung Gear VR. Currently though only the iOS version seems to be available at the time of writing.
NERVE’s set for release in the US on 27th July 2016 with a UK release a couple of weeks later. The film also stars Dave Franco (21 Jump Street, Superbad) and Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers, From Dusk to Dawn).
VRFocus will continue its coverage of VR and movie tie-ins, reporting back with any further announcements.
