I.T.

I.T. (2016)

Summary

I.T. is a thriller film that explores the dangers of technology dependence when a wealthy businessman becomes the victim of a sophisticated cyber-stalking campaign. Mike Regan, a self-made aviation mogul, lives in a futuristic "smart home" and is preparing for a major business deal. After he fires an eccentric and resentful young I.T. consultant named Ed Porter, the consultant uses his technical expertise to wage a terrifying, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse, hacking into Regan's entire life—his home security, personal data, and business—to torment him and his family. The film centers on Regan's desperate attempts to use his "old school" connections to fight a modern, invisible enemy.

Plot

Mike Regan (Pierce Brosnan) is a successful Irish-American entrepreneur with a glamorous life: a beautiful wife, Rose (Anna Friel), a teenage daughter, Kaitlyn (Stefanie Scott), and a sleek, fully automated smart home. His company is on the verge of launching a massive new aviation app, "Omni Jet."

During a crucial business presentation, a technical glitch is quickly and effectively resolved by Ed Porter (James Frecheville), a young, highly skilled but socially awkward I.T. consultant at his company. Impressed, Mike invites Ed to his home to fix his family's Wi-Fi. While at the house, Ed quickly develops an unhealthy and creepy obsession with the family, particularly Kaitlyn, whom he begins to follow on social media.

When Ed shows up uninvited at Mike's house, Mike fires him for his inappropriate behavior and trespass, effectively ending Ed's promising career. Humiliated and enraged, Ed decides to take revenge by exploiting his knowledge of technology and the Regan family's complete reliance on it.

Ed begins to systematically hack and sabotage Mike's life:

1. Cyber-Stalking: He accesses the security cameras and devices in the smart home, covertly watching and listening to the family.

2. Professional Sabotage: He sends damaging spoof emails to Mike's business partners and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, threatening to destroy the company's vital stock offering.

3. Personal Terror: He manipulates the smart home's features, controlling lights, heat, music, and sprinklers to terrorize the family. Most cruelly, he sends Rose fake mammogram results, falsely claiming she has tested positive for breast cancer.

4. Public Humiliation: He steals a private, compromising video of Kaitlyn and uploads it online, mortifying her and causing her to blame her father's obsession with technology.

5. Direct Threat: When Mike attempts to confront him, Ed remotely takes control of Mike's car while he is driving, causing a high-speed accident.

Realizing the police are powerless against Ed's cyber-attacks, Mike seeks help from Henrik (Michael Nyqvist), a highly specialized and reclusive I.T. expert with a criminal past. Henrik informs Mike that to defeat Ed, he must delete all his digital data and physically destroy the technology in his smart home. Using the counter-hacker's knowledge, Mike manages to create a distraction, break into Ed's apartment, and steal several drives containing evidence of the hacking.

The conflict culminates in a tense, final confrontation as Ed breaks into the Regan house, ties up Rose and Kaitlyn, and prepares to kill them. Mike rushes home for a physical, low-tech battle against his high-tech adversary. He overpowers Ed and forces him to surrender, securing the drives and ensuring Ed is arrested. The film concludes with Mike's business and family restored, though he is shown to have learned his lesson about trust and over-reliance on technology.

Cast

• Pierce Brosnan as Mike Regan

• James Frecheville as Ed Porter

• Anna Friel as Rose Regan

• Stefanie Scott as Kaitlyn Regan

• Michael Nyqvist as Henrik

Crew

• Director: John Moore

• Screenplay by: Dan Kay, William Wisher Jr.

• Producers: David T. Friendly, Beau St. Clair

• Music by: Timothy Williams

Release Date

September 23, 2016 (United States - Theatrical and Video on Demand)