For fans of webcam horror flicks like Host and Unfriended, there’s now a new interactive short called Take This Lollipop 2 that will put you right into the Zoom grid — and danger.
Take This Lollipop 2 is a sequel-of-sorts to a 2011 Facebook app with the same name, which took a user’s personal information and used it to make them the star of a horror movie — the victim of a creepy stalker played by Bill Oberst Jr. The title is a reference to the 1963 song “Please Little Girl, Take This Lollipop,” as well as the well-worn warning not to take candy from strangers.
As director Jason Zada says, “The first film experience played on the very real growing concern about data security that for years had been splashed endlessly across major news headlines. Lollipop codified a collective feeling about what could happen if personal data got into a stalker’s hands.”
Lollipop became a viral sensation. “Audiences loved it. Facebook, didn’t. Their lawyers called,” Zada says. “Every major press outlet called. The website saw hundreds of millions of visitors, and the film received billions of media impressions. More than that, it left an indelible mark on our collective sense of security online.”
Now, Zada is shining a light on our webcams, which many have been using daily during the pandemic. The new experience takes you into a Zoom-like chat where you must watch as each member of the virtual meeting is taken down by a mysterious stalker. Data mining, deep fakes, and all manner of scares lie ahead.
“AI and deep fakes are so powerful now. Presidents, celebrities, and athletes have been deep faked,” Zada says. “The first Lollipop warned people of the dangers of sharing personal information online. Now we want to show the world how someone can actually become you.”