Saturday, May 2, 2015

Review of UNFRIENDED: Chilling Cyberspace

May 1, 2015




Since the time of 'The Blair Witch Project," the horror film landscape had been peppered  with various variations of the "found footage" style ad nauseam. This even created an entire profitable franchise in the "Paranormal Activity" series. It is high time for something new to shake up the horror genre. Here comes "Unfriended" where all the action happens online from a computer screen.

Blaire Lily (Shelley Hennig) and her boyfriend Mitch (Moses Storm) were having a naughty private chat online, when they were suddenly joined in by their other friends namely the nervous Adam (Will Peltz), the clueless Jess (Renee Olsted), the techie Ken (Jacob Wysocki), and the bitchy Val (Courtney Halverson). 

However, that night, they were joined by a mysterious account that seemingly belonged to their other friend Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman). However, Laura had been dead for a year now. She had committed suicide after being cyber-bullied when an embarrassing video of her in a drunken stupor was posted on the net. Now, Laura wants payback and badly.

The conceit of this horror flick is that all we are seeing on the big screen is what Blaire sees on her Apple laptop screen. We see her watching Youtube, posting on Facebook, group chatting on Skype with webcams, downloading videos and photos, among other online activities we are all familiar with.  That is what makes the horror, outlandish as it may seem, in this film so palpable. It involves activities we do practically do every day as we fiddle with our computers. The possibility that the paranormal can infiltrate our virtual reality is compelling stuff.

Director Levan Gabriadze, in his breakthrough Hollywood debut, effectively creates genuine chills despite the limited confines of his setting. Annoying computer problems, like slow download speeds, screen glitches and snail-paced buffering times, had been used to create suspense and excitement to push the scare level up. Of course, the obvious downside of this film's gimmick is that computer-illiterate people who do not understand these online activities will find all the clicking around on screen to be completely ludicrous and meaningless.

It really helped that the actors and actresses in this film are not big stars. They maybe too whiny or unlikable, but that is what makes them regular young people who hang around the net with their friends.  The story takes a deeper turn as it delves into their inter-relationships as friends. That game of "Never Have I Ever" is a high-tension sequence which kept me on the edge of my seat as Laura pressures each of them to reveal dark secrets they have kept from each other under the threat of death.

I appreciate the originality of this film in the story-telling technique. The name of the lead character, Blaire, could well be a tribute to the "Blair Witch Project", reflecting its attempt to break new territory in horror film-making with this movie. I caught its reference to "Dangerous Liaisons" at the end and I liked it. It is as much an intense suspense film, as it is a sociological treatise on today's youth and the brutal cyber world they live in. 8/10. 



27 comments:

  1. Wow! I've never heard about this movie yet, but I'm very intrigued. It's something people of this generation (who loves social media and online surfing) will totally get. I'm not sure if this will be (or have been) shown in Manila cinemas, but I'll definitely be looking for a copy! :D

    Thanks for this great movie review as always. With an 8/10 rating, I'm really looking forward to watch this!

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    1. Sumi, it is being shown in Manila cinema now! It opened last Wednesday.

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    2. That's great news! Didn't see this showing in SM MoA last weekend, but I'll look for a cinema that shows this. Would love to watch this on the upcoming weekend. :D

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    3. LOL! I actually watched it in MOA just last Thursday April 30, which was its second day of showing in local theaters.

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  2. It's really nice to watch this kind of movie that depects personalities with dark secrets. To unravel the core of the story gives the writer its total experience and knowledge to apply differently from others.

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  3. Don't unfriend me! Haha!

    Seems like it's a great movie!~ I wonder if it'll shown here..

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  4. This is a must watch movie for me! But I'm scared that I have nightmare >.< Love your review

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  5. I am laughing as I type this, but somewhat nervously. I am not a fan of horror movies, but when you add in the mix of they outlet I am using, social media, it just freaks me out!

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  6. I've been hearing really mixed reviews about Unfriended but your review got me so curious! :D

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  7. I just saw the advert for this and I wondered if it's something worth watching. Thanks Fred for sharing your reviews. Now I have another show to add to my long list of movies to catch this month ;)

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  8. This movie is already being shown in Manila cinema. I am interested to see it. I live in Bacolod. I have not know yet if this could be shown in SM moviehouse. I want to follow up your review which sounds as I said interesting.

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  9. I haven't heard so many good reviews about this movie. Thanks for sharing your opinion.

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  10. I like watching horror movies. This one sounds interesting because it's not like the typical horror movies that I've seen where a house is haunted and the likes. I'd like to see this.

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  11. Not really into going to cinemas to watch movies, I always wait for the dvd release anf prefer watching it at home. Definitely not a fan of horror films, made the mistake of watching The Blair Witch Project before and still traumatized from it haha. And after reading your review, I guess it's safe to say I won't be watching this, my heart won't be able to take it haha.

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  12. I'm giving them props for the title of the movie - there's recall value. This isnt the kind of horror film though that I'd watch in the cinemas.

    I want to add that the plot sounds similar to another movie ( or series ) that I've seen a few months ago. I just can't remember the title but it's also about someone who died and wants revenge ... there were a lot of scary online stuff that happened there too.

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  13. heard of this movie but never really look into it. Thanks for the review.

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  14. I've always wanted to watch this! Waaah. :D I've not watched horror movies recently yet.

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  15. Gosh, this is a new approach to horror film. Eager to see this movie. Nice review as usual Fred.

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  16. Blair witch project is b*llsh*t film ever. I was in high school when we watched it and all we know this is a real life film and then there comes part2.

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  17. This UNFRIENDED: Chilling Cyberspace is a must watch movie for me. I like this cyber horror movie. Thumbs up for this review.

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  18. Not a fan of horror.. Think i'll have to give it a miss :p

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  19. I saw this one as among the alternatives in Century City Mall yesterday. The story looks really unique.

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  20. Another horror movie! Not my cup of tea - I am too scared to enjoy these shows! Sounds like you enjoyed it though!!

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  21. Gonna catch it. Wasn't planning to do so until you recommended!

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  22. Sounds like an interesting movie. I wonder if they'll show this here in Cebu though

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  23. I’ve watched the teaser for the movie and it looked chilling and intriguing enough to watch. Maybe I’ll do it alone or with my husband.

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  24. That's a very high review for a horror film. Some friends actually didn't like it, exactly because of your reason, the computer illiterate, or non-social media friendly people wouldn't really relate.

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