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\u201cCypher\u201d is a fakeout film disguised as a real music documentary. For a while, you believe it will chronicle the rapper Tierra Whack\u2019s rise, from teenage Philadelphia poet to Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist whose fans include Cardi B and Billie Eilish.<\/p>\n
As the film eases you in with a cushy setup, Whack jokes that it could be completely derailed, ending in jaw-dropping fashion \u2014 which it does. \u201cYou could die, I could die and then we can\u2019t shoot anymore,\u201d she says, amusing even the director, Chris Moukarbel. Then things get weird. When Whack and her crew wind down at a late-night diner after a Chicago concert, she meets a fan desperate for her to watch a video that you know she shouldn\u2019t watch. Afterward, she is still the real Whack, but in a very different movie. Adding to the sinister shift, she spots an ominous radio on the set of Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s \u201cBlack Is King\u201d film (Whack, who has a cameo, was actually there<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A cunning experiment in cross-genre filmmaking, \u201cCypher\u201d is all fun, games and hagiography until it\u2019s not, effectively deceiving at every conspiratorial turn. The less you know about how this meta spine-chiller comments on the dark side of celebrity surveillance, the greater the thrill of discovering the \u201creal or not?\u201d events as they come. I\u2019ll say this much: When \u201cCypher\u201d stops masquerading as a sincere artist bio and ends up where you never thought it would, the film certainly gives new meaning to \u201cbehind-the-scenes access.\u201d<\/p>\n Cypher<\/strong>
Rated R. A few expletives. Running time: 1 hour 21 minutes. Watch on Hulu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n