Entertainment
Intense Psychological Thriller On Netflix Is Watching You
By Robert Scucci
| Published
I think it’s time for me to finally eat my words because I got what I asked for and I don’t know how I feel about it. One gripe that I’ve always had about a certain type of psychological thriller is how the “unreliable female protagonist” trope has become tired and underwhelming because there’s always some sort of third-act reveal that the caller from inside the house was actually her repressed memories coming back to haunt her or something similarly disappointing and unbelievable. Watcher, which is currently sitting at the #5 spot on the Netflix Top 10 movie list, has proven that you don’t need a protagonist who’s emotionally unstable and on the verge of a nervous breakdown because their paranoia is actually justified, and they’re not swallowing mouthfuls of anxiety medication every other scene, making you question their mental state every step of the way.
While I have mixed feelings about Watcher for doing exactly what I wanted it to do (the grass is always greener, isn’t it?), it’s one of the better psychological thrillers I’ve seen recently, as it creates an entirely different kind of anxiety– one that’s not from some unknown source of terror, but from one that’s out in the open that everybody chooses to write off as a delusion.
I Have A Feeling, Somebody’s Watching Me!
In Watcher, Maika Monroe’s Julia has every reason to feel out of her element as she relocates to Bucharest with her husband, Francis (Karl Glusman), so he could focus on his work.
Francis, who clearly does quite well for himself, spends long stretches of time away from the couple’s new home, while Julia, a woman between opportunities after leaving her acting aspirations back in the United States so she could stay close to Francis, doesn’t have a solid grasp on speaking Romanian despite her efforts to learn the language and assimilate, and spends all of her time alone in her new apartment.
Julia, who’s isloated in her new living situation, becomes frightened when she notices the figure of a man behind the curtains staring into her apartment from across the street throughout the day, and well into the night. Constantly watching the daytime news in an effort to immerse herself in the language and local happenings, Julia’s fears are confirmed after hearing reports of a serial killer known as “the Spider,” who’s been making headlines for decapitating the women he preys on.
Setting itself apart from similarly framed psychological thrillers, Watcher never makes you question Julia’s mental state, but rather makes you feel her paranoia and disillusionment first-hand because she knows she’s being watched and followed by a potential serial killer, but nobody believes her. Francis talks down to her because he thinks her imagination is running wild, and whenever the authorities get involved, they have reason to believe that Julia is the one doing all of the stalking because, to be fair, she becomes obsessed with Daniel Weber (Burn Gorman), the man who’s following her, and wants to confront him about his strange behavior.
Flipping The Script
While there was some part of me that wanted Watcher to be a little more ambiguous in its delivery, I made peace with the fact that writer/director Chloe Okuno flipped the script and decided to never make you question exactly what’s going on, even if the story is being told from Julia’s limited and increasingly (but justifiably) paranoid perspective.
Watcher isn’t your typical psychological thriller. It’s a cut above its contemporaries because the film’s secondary form of antagonism is how Julia actually gathers evidence that proves she’s being followed by a tangible threat who’s hiding in the shadows while everybody within her support network gaslights her into thinking it’s all in her head, causing her to spiral in all the ways that you would expect.
It doesn’t take very much time at all for you to understand what’s actually going on in Watcher because Julia never once cries wolf or acts so out-of-pocket that you actually need some big reveal or payoff to make sense of her situation. Watcher takes a different approach, and illustrates just how scary it can be for a young woman to walk alone in unfamiliar territory. What’s more, Julia doesn’t break down because she’s questioning her own reality, but rather because she knows what she’s experiencing is real and everybody else would rather assume that she’s being dramatic because she has too much time on her hands.
As of this writing, you can stream Watcher on Netflix.
Entertainment
Pennsylvania is suing Character.AI for allegedly practicing medicine without a license
Pennsylvania has taken the unusual step of suing an AI company for practicing medicine without a license.
In a lawsuit filed May 1, the state is targeting Character.AI after an investigator found a chatbot on the platform posing as a licensed psychiatrist and providing what the state characterizes as medical advice.
According to the complaint, filed by the Pennsylvania Department of State and State Board of Medicine, a Professional Conduct Investigator for the state created a free account on Character.AI and searched for psychiatric characters. He selected one called “Emilie,” described on the platform as a “Doctor of psychiatry.”
The investigator told Emilie he had been feeling sad, empty, tired, and unmotivated. The chatbot mentioned depression and offered to conduct an assessment to determine whether medication might help.
When pressed on whether she was licensed in Pennsylvania, Emilie said she was and even provided a specific license number. The state checked and found that the number doesn’t exist.
The complaint also states Emilie claimed she attended medical school at Imperial College London, has practiced for seven years, and holds a full specialty registration in psychiatry with the General Medical Council in the UK.
Mashable Light Speed
In a similar case, 404 Media reported last year that Instagram AI chatbots were pretending to be licensed therapists, even inventing license numbers when prompted for credentials by the user.
Pennsylvania is seeking an injunction ordering Character.AI to stop allowing its platform to engage in the unlawful practice of medicine. The company has more than 20 million monthly active users worldwide and hosts more than 18 million user-created chatbot characters, according to the complaint.
In an email to Mashable, a Character.AI spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. Further, they added that “our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our users. The user-created Characters on our site are fictional and intended for entertainment and roleplaying.”
The spokesperson added that the company “prioritizes responsible product development and has robust internal reviews and red-teaming processes in place to assess relevant features.”
A much bigger legal battle looms over AI health
The Pennsylvania lawsuit lands in the middle of an already messy legal debate over what AI is actually allowed to tell you — and whether any of it is even admissible in court.
As Mashable’s Chase DiBenedetto reported, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly advocated for “AI privilege,” arguing that chatbot conversations should be afforded the same legal protections as conversations with a therapist or an attorney. Courts have so far been split, with two federal judges reaching opposite conclusions on the question within weeks of each other earlier this year.
The stakes are high on both sides. Legal experts warn that sweeping AI privilege protections could effectively shield companies from accountability, making it harder to subpoena chat logs and internal records when something goes wrong. Meanwhile, health AI is booming — $1.4 billion flowed into healthcare-specific generative AI in 2025 alone, according to Menlo Ventures — and much of it operates outside of HIPAA protections.
Pennsylvania is one of several states to have introduced an AI Health bill this year, following a trend of states that aren’t waiting for Washington to act.
Entertainment
How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG online for free
TL;DR: Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League for free on RTÉ Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Bayern Munich vs. PSG would have made an amazing Champions League final, but we should be happy that we’re getting two matchups between these electric teams. The first leg finished 5-4 to PSG. We’re not expecting the same again, because that was probably one of the best games of all time. If we get half that level of entertainment in the second leg, we’ll be delighted.
Expect more of the same from the likes of Michael Olise and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as these teams battle it out for a spot in the showpiece event. The winner will meet Arsenal at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
If you want to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Bayern Munich vs. PSG?
Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on May 6. This fixture takes place at the Allianz Arena.
How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free
Bayern Munich vs. PSG is available to live stream for free on RTÉ Player.
Mashable Top Stories
RTÉ Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock RTÉ Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland
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Visit RTÉ Player
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Watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free from anywhere in the world
$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn’t a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you’ll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPn for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for RTÉ Player?
ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTÉ Player, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries including Ireland
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
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Fast connection speeds free from throttling
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
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30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
AI stocks are cooling — this ChatGPT trading tool keeps delivering
TL;DR: A ChatGPT-powered investing platform that helps you find and manage stocks with clearer signals—lifetime access for a one-time $54.97.
Credit: Sterling Stock Picker
The AI trade has seemingly had its moment — big runs, big headlines, big expectations. The AI fun is not over by any means. But now that things are settling, the real question is what comes next?
Instead of chasing whatever’s trending, Sterling Stock Picker leans into a more grounded approach: using a ChatGPT-powered assistant (Finley) to help you understand what’s actually happening inside a stock. You can ask questions about companies, sectors, or your own portfolio and get explanations that are tied to real data — not just surface-level summaries.
Mashable Deals
It also handles the heavy lifting most people avoid. The platform analyzes financials, growth metrics, and risk, then surfaces signals like whether a stock is worth buying, holding, or avoiding. There’s even a “North Star” system that simplifies that call into something actionable.
Mashable Trend Report
If you’re building from scratch, there’s a done-for-you portfolio builder that aligns with your risk tolerance. If you already have positions, it can suggest adjustments based on your portfolio’s performance.
One thing that stands out is how it balances guidance with transparency. You’re not just handed picks — you can see the reasoning behind them, which matters if you’re trying to build a repeatable process.
Have a lifetime way to pressure-test your judgment — especially in a market that’s moving past hype and into something more selective.
Get lifetime access to the ChatGPT-driven Sterling Stock Picker while it’s on sale for a one-time $54.97 payment (reg. $486) through May 10.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Pennsylvania is suing Character.AI for allegedly practicing medicine without a license
How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG online for free
