You wouldn’t have to search long to find a horror film that contains themes of sex and bullying. It was only a matter of time before those concepts found their way into the cyberspace, in the forms of cybersex and cyberbullying. In “Unfriended,” these concepts mix with the new idea of the cybernatural. (Originally, “Unfriended” was going to be titled “Cybernatural,” and I, for one, prefer the original title, but that’s beside the point.)
“Unfriended” is the story of six high school friends on a routine video call on a school night. A “friend” of theirs, Laura Barns, committed suicide some time ago due to excessive bullying online resulting from an embarrassing video that, at least in the world of a high schooler, _everyone_ saw. Now, on the anniversary of her death, her omnipotent virus-ghost-demon-monster thing is here to get revenge on all of them for what they did to her and one another.
“Unfriended” has the structure of essentially every teen slasher flick ever. It boasts “teens” played by actors that are most definitely not in high school, angst resulting in overtly malicious social behavior, and noises coming from adjacent rooms that should not under any circumstances be investigated alone but always are.
However, “Unfriended” is better than it has any right to be.
The only unique thing about this movie, and by far the coolest thing about it, is the fact that the entirety of the movie is filmed to look like one long take of a Mac computer screen. All of the events unfold on Skype, Facebook, LiveLeak, YouTube, Chatroulette or Spotify. This ends up making the film feel very claustrophobic and suspenseful, especially given that if they sign off of the Skype call, they die. This gimmick, along with a deceptively intelligent script that minimizes gore (for the most part) and maximizes suspense and story, lifts “Unfriended” above the slew of forgettable teen slasher flicks of recent years.
The second-best thing about this movie is that it’s only a measly 82 minutes long. This exceptionally short runtime prevents the movie from ever grinding to a halt. By keeping up the breakneck speed of the plot, you don’t have to time to think about the continuity errors or anything deeper than instinctual logic. Additionally, if the movie had been any longer, the computer gimmick might’ve lost its appeal. Laura certainly didn’t mince words as she dwindled their numbers in increasingly creative and horrific ways, even if it never manages to be more than a little scary. (Disclaimer: [I just saw “It Follows,”](http://move.themaneater.com/stories/2015/3/31/pass-popcorn-it-follows-convinces-chastity-worth-i/#.VSwkVxPLlp8) so maybe I don’t have the best gauge of “scary” at the moment.)
On the other hand, I was not a huge fan of the last few frames. I didn’t have a problem with the ending necessarily, but the last few seconds of the movie could have been handled more deftly to make “Unfriended” stick with you longer. Those final seconds undermined what could have been an incredibly powerful and lasting ending.
“We made a mistake, but we’re good people,” Blaire, the main character, begs to Laura (the virus-ghost-demon-monster).
She simply replies, “Are you?”
No human being can tame the tongue. Unfortunately, with the advent of the Internet, the difficulty of accomplishing this impossible feat has been exponentially amplified. Instead of having to think through what you say to someone’s face, we can now hide behind computer screens and keyboards, and anonymously mutilate people mercilessly on an incredibly visceral level. “Unfriended” is a raw reminder that what we do online has just as many permanent implications as what we do in real life, and that there is a human being on the other end of the screen with thoughts and feelings of their own.
Originally, “Unfriended” was supposed to be released on MTV as a made-for-TV film, but ended up getting released in theaters. I’m glad they did this, because I most definitely would not have watched a movie made for MTV. Don’t focus on the poor marketing; “Unfriended” is a smart enough, unique enough and meaningful enough horror movie that makes for a heck of an 82-minute ride.
**Pass the Popcorn if:** You like horror movies that have a deeper significance than “don’t mess with the devil, or he will mess you up.” You like horror movies with a side of humor (it’s pretty funny, and I can’t decide if that was intentional or not). You’d like to see a game of “Never Have I Ever” with higher stakes than pride. This new and creative angle excites you.
**Pass it up if:** You haven’t seen “It Follows” yet. You’d prefer to watch it on a computer for the added scary factor. You’re completely unfamiliar with every aforementioned website in this review. You try too hard to predict movies, because you may just get this one right.