Bullying online is so much simpler and convenient than doing it in-person, which is now considered the old-fashioned way. Even better, you get a wider audience for your hurtful comments so everyone will know what you think of your victim. But what so many people, particularly teens, seem to realize too late is the Internet is forever and for the most part, you no longer control the content once it’s out there. What may begin as a prank can spiral and result in irrevocable repercussions, which in so many cases is suicide. The adolescents in Unfriended learn this lesson the hard way.
It’s been one-year since Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman) committed suicide after an embarrassing video of her was published online. None of her so-called friends acknowledged the anniversary of her death — until she made them. Blaire (Shelley Hennig) and her six friends are Skyping together, but there’s a mystery participant on whom they can’t seem to hang up. While it sits silently eavesdropping on their chat, they each begin to receive distressing messages; some are intended to turn them against each other, while others are being delivered from beyond the grave via Laura’s social media accounts. When their mystery guest finally joins the conversation, they have no choice but to play her lethal game.
The concept of an aggrieved spirit seeking revenge against those who wronged him/her is not new. However, there is one significant feature that makes this picture different than its predecessors: the entire film takes place on a computer screen. From the moment the movie opens on a private video conversation between Blaire and her boyfriend, Mitch (Moses Jacob Storm), the “camera” never leaves her Apple desktop. With the current environment of multitasking and short attention spans, Blaire unsurprisingly has multiple windows at a time and switches between them frequently. While Skyping, she’s privately messaging Mitch, checking Facebook, Googling “messages from the dead,” and adding music to her playlist. As viewers increasingly spend more of their day staring at a screen than not, the innovative perspective is familiar and consequently more disturbing.
This movie also contains an element that is (or at least used to be) characteristic of the genre, but is rarely incorporated in contemporary horror: social commentary. It uses the basis of a haunting to make some very bold statements about cyberbullying, its links to suicide, the repercussions of one’s online activity and how bad decisions in general can become a plague of negative publicity. From being tagged in inappropriate Facebook photos posted by other people to the speed in which something goes viral within your community to the freely dealt abuse users spew all over the web, the Internet presents a lot more to fear than a ghostly hacker — and it barely even touches the issues surrounding nude photos and sexting.
The first section of the film can be a little trying as the audience is subjected to a group of teens just being teens, which includes a lot of inane conversation, name calling and the repeated use of the word “ugh.” However by the time the first kid dies, it starts to pick up momentum and hits full speed when they finally turn on each other. Also, watching the characters via their small web call frames can be somewhat frustrating until you become accustomed to the format. The actors fill their roles as stereotypical teens adequately, though a couple — namely Renee Olstead and Will Peltz — standout above the others.
It’s still not one of the year’s best horror releases due to some stiff competition, but it’s definitely notable and worth a watch.
Director: Levan Gabriadze
Starring: Shelley Hennig, Moses Jacob Storm and Will Peltz
