Review of Unfriended (2014) by Jack F — 27 Jul 2016

This one shouldn't have worked.

Over the years, many horror movies have come up with some kind of gimmick in order to stand out in a crowded genre consisting of many films that are more-or-less interchangeable. Sometimes the gimmick works and, for better or worse, it becomes a trend, whether it's going meta in "Scream," passing itself off as genuine "found footage" in "The Blair Witch Project," or going for squirm-inducing "torture porn" in "Saw.".

However, there are also times in which it doesn't work, and the movie subsequently comes off like a failed experiment. (See "The Fourth Kind," the 2009 alien abduction movie which essentially tried to shoehorn the "found footage" subgenre into a traditionally shot horror film.) When I first heard of the concept of "Unfriended," I believed it was destined for this ignominious fate. How can a film that's literally set entirely on a teenager's laptop possibly work? For just about the entire movie, the computer screen is all that we see. How can this be made into an effective movie?

Well, I don't really know HOW they did it, but director Leo Gabriadze and writer Nelson Greaves have somehow crafted a nifty little horror pic which, if not exactly terrifying, is at least awfully compelling and undeniably watchable (which itself is a feat, if you think about it). "Scary" is probably not the best word to describe "Unfriended," as it's more about creating an atmosphere of prolonged tension...although there are a few nasty shocks as well.

This type of movie was probably the next logical step from "found footage," as we've always got our faces buried in our iPhones or laptops or some other form of technology these days. In fact, one might even say this is a kind of "live footage" movie, as the plot involves a group of teenagers hanging out--if that's even the correct term, since they're not in the same physical space--and interacting with each other online on the one-year anniversary of a former classmate's suicide. Although we're not technically in her presence, the story is told through the laptop of Blaire (Shelley Hennig), but we also meet several of her friends through video chats, Face Time, instant messaging and other forms of social media.

What begins as an online gathering of friends soon turns ominous when they realize there is an anonymous person involved in their group-chat, an individual who can see and hear them but not vice versa. At first they believe the rogue presence is simply a talented hacker, as all attempts to cut him/her out of their session is unsuccessful; however, it soon becomes apparent that there might be something more sinister going on here, as the mysterious party-crasher knows A LOT of private information about both the group of friends as well as the deceased classmate, whose suicide is mainly attributed to cyber-bullying, possibly at the hands of Blaire and her friends. Now the unwanted guest has become something of an anonymous avenging angel, psychologically tormenting the teenagers and forcing them to not only participate in a few deadly contests but also confront some of their own demons.

Considering its format, "Unfriended" is incredibly well-shot. As it's all shown via Blaire's laptop, it's almost like the movie is an 80 minute POV take (although we do see Blaire herself due to the web cam). It's as if Gabriadze strapped a go-pro to Shelley Hennig, gave her a computer, and just started directing. We see the openings and closings of numerous programs, web pages, music players, word documents...nothing about this feels inauthentic. The attention to detail is nothing short of painstaking.

Of course, this is basically just window-dressing (albeit elaborate, very well-executed window dressing). It would all go for naught if we weren't invested in the characters' plight. But the storyline is taut and surprisingly pretty riveting, and the cast of largely unknowns does a good job with the material. I've always felt that this was an essential tactic to the "found footage" subgenre-or, in this case, as stated earlier, "live footage" subgenre (maybe this term will catch on!)-as it helps maintain the illusion that the events really happened. Cast big-name stars in productions like these and you risk taking the audience out of the movie, and that's imperative to this subgenre. Granted, you run the risk of lesser experienced actors giving subpar performances, but I thought the stars in "Unfriended" were just fine. Considering the format, I'm going to assume the cast had to almost exclusively act solo without any other performers to play off of, and that's not an easy thing to do. If that were the case, kudos to them.

On this subject, I do confess that I found the characters to be a bit annoying, but hey...they're characters in a horror movie. This tends to go with the territory.

I don't envision this type of "live footage" horror film becoming a trend. I think the limitations of the format will be too vast to overcome, and honestly, Gabriadze has probably done just about everything one could do with this idea. Additionally, with all the changes in technology, I feel it won't be long until "Unfriended" looks rather out-of-date. (It's true that that the 17 year-old "Blair Witch Project" is still cited amongst cinephiles as a horror classic, but with that film, its relative primitiveness retroactively adds to its atmosphere, and also, strangely enough, fits in with the movie's tone. After all, the crux of the story centers around being lost in the woods, away from civilization and technology.).

But in a case like this, there's nothing wrong with the movie being a product of its time. And while it lacks the visceral punch of a "Blair Witch," "Unfriended" should be recognized and applauded for being innovative, fascinating, and most importantly, rather effective. In this instance, much to this old moviegoer's surprise, the experiment worked.