Having the privacy of your own home breached is devastating. After all, it’s supposed to be your safe haven, protecting you from the dangers of other people and forces outside of your control. 13 Cameras explores the consequences and possible events that may occur when someone is quite literally watching you inside your house and what may happen if you happen to find out about it.
Ryan (P.J. McCabe) and Claire (Brianne Moncrief) have recently moved across the country into their new dream home. Unbeknownst to them, their landlord, Gerald (Neville Archambault), has been keeping a very close eye on them. Gerald has hidden wireless video cameras around their home in hopes of catching them in compromising positions. His plan works wonderfully as Gerald observes the young couple arguing, having sex, and plain old everyday things like eating. He also watches them while they sleep, which could be the creepiest of all of his acts.
In the film, Ryan and Claire are too busy dealing with their crumbling marriage to realize that their home has been infiltrated and they are now being spied on. Perhaps if they would have taken extra care, their lecherous landlord would not have been able to creep on their property and install all those cameras. Not all voyeurism has to be via manually enabled cameras. It can be very easy for a hacker to enter your home surveillance system and monitor you from miles away, or even watch you from a different country.
This is why it’s incredibly important to take precautions in your home. An overly simplistic password is like leaving your front door wide open. Make sure your password contains a mix of letters, numbers, and characters so that it is not easily guessed. All modern home security systems will keep track of IP addresses that have accessed the system along with your personal details. If there is an unknown address that has gained access at any time, alert both the security company and the police.
While the story at its heart may be nothing new, the way it utilizes technology as a tool for the antagonist certainly is. Even while bickering, Ryan and Claire leave themselves wide open. Gerald is an embodiment of our current voyeur culture, all too eager to view the private moments of someone else. With the curious staying power of so-called reality shows and the embarrassing spectacle of our current Presidential race, our country has been reduced to sweaty Geralds. We poke and prod and want to see all the dirt of others, but are incredibly unaware of our own filth.
Ryan and Claire are a great example of our society as a whole. Too wrapped up in day to day dysfunctions to pay close attention to what is going on around us. They take for granted that their newfound home will somehow provide a safe haven without much action on their part. Come home, lock the door, and all is well. They naturally assume that the devices meant to safeguard us will do just that, nevermind that those very same devices need safeguarding themselves. While it is unlikely that any of us will encounter anything close to what Ryan and Claire experience with their mentally unstable landlord, it would still behoove us to keep an eye on those things that are keeping an eye on us.
Written by Maria Rosita
Maria is a writer interested in comic books, cycling, and horror films. Her hobbies include cooking, doodling, and finding local shops around the city. She currently lives in Chicago with her two pet turtles, Franklin and Roy.
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