Movie Review : Unfriended (2015)

'Unfriended' raises the bar for the Genre

Director : Levan Gabriadze
Starring : Shelley Hennig, Moses Jacob Storm, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson, Heather Sossaman
Studio : Bazeleves Company, Blumhouse Productions
Distributed by : Universal Pictures
Release Date : July 20, 2014 (Fantasia)
April 17, 2015 (United States)
April 29, 2015 (Philippines)


Plot: A group of friends chatting through Skype find themselves haunted by a mysterious, supernatural force using the account of their dead friend.

Meet Laura Barns. Wanna add her as a friend?

Too much internet can kill you... I guess.

In today's generation, a regular person's life revolves around their social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. I must admit that I am just like everybody else. My life is mostly based online. I mean, this is how I reconnect with friends that are miles away from me. This is how I an greet them despite the fact that I am not with them at that very moment. I actually spend at least four to five hours checking my social media accounts and browsing online during my regular work days.

So it's no surprise that this little film got my attention. Playing on the audience's worst fears online, 'Unfriended' , also known in it's original title 'Cybernatural' was one of my most anticipated horror movies this year. And I must say that it was really worth the wait after seeing it.

So how did the film turned out? Well, here's a breakdown of this truly unexpected horror piece.

Warning: spoilers ahead!





A Slasher set in Skype
Well, this is pretty much obvious in the plot synopsis and the trailers that they have released that this is our usual slasher ste-up: a group of teens are getting killed off one by one by an unknown force. Similar to a Final Destination fashion but all happening in one sitting, while chatting through Skype.

"What's fat and white and red all over? Ken in a blender."

But unlike most slasher inspired horror films, this one really hits hard. Other slashers use excessive amounts of sex, violence and gore to be "scary". This low-budget film, on the other hand uses mounting tension and a respectable amount of dread to scare it's viewers. The deaths of the characters are horrific though. But they're not so gory as other slasher flick that we've seen before. It wants us to focus not on the killings, the blood, and the gore (which are just brief and very short, some even just lasting a second). It's not even showing how the character gets killed. Like for example, when Ken (Jacob Wysocki ) gets his hand shredded with a blender after he gets possessed, we are only shown very short glimpse of the actual scene. It leaves more to the audiences' imagination, which makes it more scary. The deaths doesn't need to be brutal. Our minds are left to play with these thoughts and pushes it to the extreme. It intensifies the killings for us.


Found-footage film by heart
Found footage film? Yes? No? Maybe? Well, it falls under the genre alongside films like Paranormal Activity (2007) and Cloverfield (2008). But the thing here is that it is way cooler in terms of it's presentation.
The whole film itself is shown through a girl's computer (or laptop) screen. Yes. You will sit inside the cinema for an hour and a half staring at a big computer screen. That may sound boring at first, but if you will really watch the film for yourself, you will be proven wrong. The story unfolds through different websites like Facebook, Instagram, Skype and YouTube, as the main character Blaire Lily (Shelley Hennig) looks back to the death of former friend Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman) who committed suicide after a scandalous video of her has gone viral a year ago. This already sets up a background for the story. Then, she starts a conversation with her friends through a video call, alongside an unnamed, faceless account with the screen name billie227.

As the whole movie progresses, we are pulled into different pop-ups and links to othe website, while each of these characters are being terrorized at their homes by their mysterious friend.
Now, this movie stands out among the pile of films using the shaky-cam technique as it makes a vairation of the found-footage genre, being set real-time on it's character's computer screen. This technique might not be new since it has been used before by the Nacho Vigalondo thriller film Open Windows (2014) starring  Elijah Wood and Sasha Grey. But it still feels so unique and fresh because of the way they made the presentation exciting for the viewers. You see the cursor about to to click on a certain link but then it stops, with the character thinking if they should go and click it. As a viewer of the film, I dont know but I felt a certain feeling of suspense since I really dont have any idea where this link will route us into. That I think was another factor that made the film very suspenseful to watch.


Believable Characters

One important thing when it comes to horror movies is that you need to have characters that audiences will root for. Characters whom people would like. So that the audience will really feel worried for them when you put these characters to danger.
This is one of the aspects that 'Unfriended' has achived. I actually wondered how they do that since we dont really get a lot of background information about these 6 characters. We only see how they interact with each other through their video chat. How they talk, curse or shout to each other.

Shelley Hennig and Moses Storm as Blaire Lily and Mitch Roussel .

I think the praises should go to the actors who played each of their parts very well. Shelley Hennig really makes up a good protagonist as she tries to do everything to calm everyone despite what is already happening to them. Moses Jacob Storm plays her boyfriend Mitch Roussel. The two of them really looked believable as a couple early in the film as they tease each other through a video chat. Then, as the film progresses, you see how their relationship starts to deteriorate as they discover each other's secrets. Here, Moses Storm really shows his strength in acting as his characters react to his girlfriend's revelation that will affect how they see each other. You really feel sorry for the two of them. Will Peltz plays Adam Sewell, Mitch's best friend. He doesn't really get a lot of things to do until the film reaches it's climax, where ech one of these characters gets to revela their secrets. After this, his character becomes really engagin to watch as he tries to fight his character's fear. Then, there's Jess Felton (played by Renee Olstead), Ken Smith (Jacob Wysocki) and Val Rommel (Courtney Halverson). Each one of them creates a believable character out of their thinly written roles. They aren't given much to do but to yell at each other. Yet they act so real that you kinda feel like they're someone that you've been friends with. Or sometimes, even you.


All The Right Balance
I liked to commend director Levan Gabriadze because unlike most horror films, this movie mixes suspense and shock very well. There is dread all throughout the film. The climax is such so entertaining to watch as each of these characters react to each one's revelations. The risks that every one has to face really adds up to the tension. People might say after watching the trailers, "Why don't they just log off?" Well, the problem is, if they log off or leave, they'll die (just like what happened to one of their friends). It's not that simple. There's really no option to get out of this mess but to play the game.

"If you reveal this note, Adam will die."

The film also has an adequate amount of shocks and jump scares all throughout. I was totally shocked at the scene where Will Peltz' character suddenly shot himself in the face. Although that was already shown (a little bit) in the trailers for the film, I was still caught off guard that I screamed after he fired the gun right into his face.
The film also balances all the scares and dread with some dark humor here and there, making the film a delight to watch.

Most Unforgettable Lines

Ken Smith : It's probably just a glitch.

Val Rommel: Well, the glitch just typed?!

Verdict:
After months of waiting, I must say that this film was totally worth it. This is by far the scariest horror film so far this 2015 and it's already running as one of the year's best. It gives the horror genre a jump start for this year. With it's unique variation on the Found-footage style of filmmaking, it raises the bar even higher for the genre.
This is the kind of horror movies that studios should be releasing in theatres. It's fun, fresh, unique, disturbing, almost too realistic, and totally terrifying.
Highly recommended.

I'm giving this film 5 out of 5 stars.

Unfriended Official Trailer #1 (2015) - Horror... by viraltoday