Chattanooga Film Fest 2025 Review: Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma
Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma – Cyber Revenge Goes Full Florida
★★★½☆ (3.5 out of 5)
By Travis Brown
Shane Brady’s Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma is exactly the kind of wild-card genre mashup film festivals are made for—funny, chaotic, hyper-stylized, and delightfully unhinged. Based loosely on a real-life hacking incident, the film plays like a graphic novel fever dream wrapped in comic-book panels and dipped in Tampa Bay flavor.
The story centers on a family who’s been scammed out of $20,000 by an elusive cybercriminal known only as The Chameleon—played with gleeful smugness by The Walking Dead’s Chandler Riggs. But rather than report it or roll over, the victims plot revenge. And not just any revenge: they bring in rogue cops, CIA agents, a Santa Claus played by Richard Riehle, and an ensemble of Tampa weirdos to deliver a night of karmic, rage-fueled chaos.
Tonally, the film is a blender of Happy Death Day, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and The Purge—but funnier. The script is packed with cheeky meta-jabs and gonzo set pieces that turn what could have been a straight revenge comedy into a neon-soaked comic-book spectacle. Brady embraces the absurdity without hesitation, and somehow, it all works.
The Tampa setting is more than a backdrop—it’s a character. From Grouper sandwiches to recognizable side streets and social subcultures, Hacked proudly wears its regional weirdness. This is Florida filmmaking that’s self-aware, proud, and purposely over-the-top.
Some of the slapstick may push the edge of cringe for more grounded viewers, and a few comedic beats risk overstaying their welcome. But just when you think the movie’s veering off track, it swerves back in with a fresh bit, a new character, or another burst of absurd brilliance. The energy never dips for long.
With a strong cast that mixes recognizable faces with standout newcomers, Hacked keeps you laughing, guessing, and maybe even cringing just enough to appreciate the balance. It’s a festival favorite waiting to happen—and the kind of midnight movie that earns repeat viewings just to catch every layered gag.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Comic-book revenge meets Florida chaos in Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma—one of the summer’s most riotously entertaining comedies. It’s not just funny—it’s fun.
The Chattanooga review nails how Hacked turns rage into karma, which makes the film’s double meaning land harder. Between festival screenings, I have been playing krillion unlimited for quick trivia breaks where uncommon answers win. Seven prompts at 25 seconds each fits a short gap, and no sign-up keeps it simple.
Great festival coverage! Hacked sounds like rage-fuelled karma done right, and Chattanooga keeps proving it is a secret weapon of a genre festival. Thanks for the sharp review, merge fellas
Great review - the idea of a family turning the tables on an elusive cybercriminal like The Chameleon sounds like a ridiculously fun ride, and the Tampa setting is a great touch. As a tech nerd, the hacking angle also reminded me how far document processing has come; even ocr ai tools now use neural networks that mimic human reading instead of simple pattern matching. Adding this one to my must-watch list.
Travis, great review—the film's hyper-stylized, meme-friendly chaos is exactly why it works. If you want to drop the gold character from the Neegy trend into a still from Hacked, the Neegy meme generator lets you add it naturally to your own photo.
Travis nailed it—the Tampa setting really does feel like its own character, and casting Chandler Riggs as The Chameleon is a clever bit of misdirection. The “Final Score” framing also reminds me of how I lean on a free SAT score predictor to estimate practice test ranges from raw correct answers—same idea of turning raw data into a clear verdict before the real test.