REVIEW: Unfriended

UNFRIENDED

RELEASE: OUT NOW

RATED: R

RATING: ****/*****

PREMISE: (Via IMDB) While video chatting one night, six high school friends receive a Skype message from a classmate who killed herself exactly one year ago. At first they think it's a prank, but when the girl starts revealing the friends' darkest secrets, they realize they are dealing with something out of this world, something that wants them dead. Told entirely from a young girl's computer desktop, CYBERNATURAL redefines 'found footage' for a new generation of teens.

 

THE PRO'S: Chilling, well acted and written, VERY original, great use of suspense, great twists along the way.

 

THE CON'S: Underused character brings down the production for a short portion of the movie. The type of movie that is likely not to age well.

THE REVIEW:

Now this is a movie that surprised me a great deal. When I first heard of Unfriended, I honestly laughed at the premise and first trailer. It seemed so ridiculous to set an entire movie on a computer monitor, let alone a horror movie. Then the second trailer came out, and suddenly it was getting tons of reviews praising it, and my interest was piqued and I got excited.

It turned out, I had good reason to be.

Unfriended tells the story of Blaire, Mitch, Val, Adam, Ken, and Jess who on the one-year anniversary of a friend's suicide are in a video chat. While Blaire looks back on the online video, and cyber-bullying that lead to said-friend, Laura's suicide, an unknown user enters their video chat. Someone using Laura's account, someone who is determined to find out who put the video up, by any means necessary.

The original premise, and story are really the two best assets the movie ended up having. The movie is an unpredictable, chilling, roller coaster ride into the horrors of cyber bullying. And it's not one that lets you ever take a breath or feel safe either. Even though I had a small portion of the ending spoiled, everything that lead up to it, and took place was absolutely shocking. With every passing moment creating more tension not only for the characters, but for the audience as well.

The fact that the movie had great acting in it did help as well. Driven by a very well-written script that feels authentic, with very realistic dialogue and pacing, the actors do their job well. One of the actors, even though they were the weak link, and their character seemed so useless, was even able ot hold their own which said something. It's hard to really point out any "best" actor in this movie, but Shelly Hennig and Moses Jacob Storm, who play Blaire and Mitch both pull off excellent performances and are probably the main stand-outs of the movie.

Another fantastic thing about this movie is how generally unnerving the film is. Throughout the film, the villain is mostly unseen, creating a feeling of dread as to who goes next. As their numbers dwindle down, the atmosphere builds and builds and creates some of the best atmosphere in a found footage film in years. 

But what really stands out to me? Is the fact the story is told so perfectly. Every time I thought I knew where it was going, even knowing some spoilers, it would drag me in the opposite direction. It did a great job of presenting and pulling some fantastic twists and keeping you on your toes and guessing until the final credits at last rolled. Even so I suggest not reading anything going into this like I unfortunately did, even though it was still full of surprises there'll be even more insane moments if you don't.

That said, the main sad thing about this movie is that it isn't likely to age well. This is a very "modern" movie, and while it works well in the social media age there's no telling if this will be a thing in the future. Which is too bad because it's such a fantastic and well-crafted story. But even so, that's okay, it's here for now, and it's good enough that it doesn't really matter.

So....

IN CONCLUSION:

"Unfriended" is an exhilarating, and chilling roller-coaster ride. And while it probably won't stand the test of time, it is definitely worth checking out and watching now. If you only see one found footage piece this year, make sure this is the one you see! We need more horror films like this, It Follows, and The Babadook!

4 OUT OF 5 STARS

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED