Director: Leo Gabriadze
Starring: Heather Sossaman, Matthew Bohrer, Courtney Halverson, Shelley Hennig and Moses Storm
Certification: 15
Running Time: 83 Minutes
Special Features: Chapter/Language selections
The first thought that appeared in my head when watching the first few minutes of this film was: it’s very now this kind of story. The subject matter of cuber bullying and its consequences. Can it be made in to a good horror film though? The only internet themed films I have seen myself is You’ve Got Mail and Chatroom, so the plot to Unfriended, struck an interest.
Honestly, if you’re like a lot of people who spend much of their spare time and at work staring at computer screens… this may actually not be very appealing. The film unfolds in real time on web browser pages, Skype and Facebook, so it feels like you are on the social media yourself. We are presented with six unlikeable teenagers who we slowly learn to detest even more as their dark secrets are revealed. So, as they get their comeuppance one by one, let’s just say you don’t really care about them at all – like annoying little internet memes.
It isn’t all so bad though as the film effectively presents us with a study on friendship. A friendship, where the only common ground they have is not being capable of logging off from their computers, while somebody on Skype gets murdered. Oh yes, Chatroulette is certainly the place to call for help and it’s relatively entertaining as Blaire cries for assistance from strangers just looking for ‘fun’. As the story moves along, friends become enemies in an awful way.
The best thing about this screenplay is that the supernatural being has a sense of humour. After Blaire’s cheating on her boyfriend is revealed, her playlist of music is swapped with an old song called ‘How You Lie, Lie, Lie’ and the funniest scenes are the highlights, such as a long-winded game of “Never Have I Ever”, creating an over-the-top climax.
Unfriended is certainly the first film to perfectly mimic the way people use social media but it has very limited scares that aren’t predictable and might be best seen on a bigger screen. With all its computer effects, the film wears out its welcome by the end.
