Review of Unfriended (2014) by Matthew T — 02 Jan 2016

When "Unfriended" was released in theaters, it was barely a blip on my radar. From the marketing and trailers, it looked like one more in a long line of bland, uninspired teen slashers aspiring to do no more than break even with its meager budget. Yet in the last month or so, I had seen it pop up on several "Best Horror Films of 2015" lists, so, with my curiosity piqued, I gave it a shot, and...

"Unfriended" is not a bad movie! It's not a "great" horror movie, but it's certainly a clever, nifty little film that delivers a few good scares, and while the idea of having the film take place entirely on a computer screen could have made for an extremely dull movie, it is actually used in a pretty effective way that doesn't feel cheap or gimmicky. In fact, this is probably the only movie I've ever seen that is better watched on my laptop screen instead of in the theater.

The basic premise of the film is this: on the one year anniversary of the death of Laura Barns, a high school student who was driven to suicide after an embarrassing video of her was posted online, six of her friends get on Skype to hang out and mess around. Yet a faceless seventh caller, who might or might not be the vengeful spirit of deceased Laura begins terrorizing them and forcing them to reveal their darkest secrets, eventually picking them off one by one.

Plot-wise, it's a pretty standard affair, but the narrative device of telling it in real-time entirely on a Macbook screen adds a compelling twist that allowed for some unique scares. There was also some surprising emotional nuance in the film. The relationship between the main character Blaire and her boyfriend Mitch feels honest, and there's real chemistry between them. The early scenes of the film, in which the two flirt and goof around on Skype, gave the film a certain tenderness that made me care about both characters when shit started to go down. When shit DID start to go down, there was actual emotional conflict between characters to complement the jump scares and gory images, which were fairly standard and run of the mill.

The qualms I have with "Unfriended" are pretty much the qualms I have with the majority of low-budget teen slasher/ghost movies. Except for Blaire and to a lesser extent Mitch, the characters rarely extend beyond tired, worn archetypes (the slutty blond, the douchey jock, the comedic relief fat guy), and are all sort of assholes with few redeeming qualities, making you care very little whether they live or die. What's more, there are also several gaping plot holes--for example, they're all screaming, yelling, and crying, yet none of their parents come in to check on them? Are we to assume that every single one of them is home alone, even though its ten o' clock on a Wednesday night? Finally, the final jump scare at the end is one of the laziest I have seen in recent memory, and is not only unearned and unnecessary, but actually detracts from the film's emotional climax.

Overall, "Unfriended," is a surprisingly clever, compelling horror film that kept me invested for its entire runtime. Though it does have its flaws, its feat of effectively pulling off such a risky gimmick definitely earns it a spot on my list of Best Horror Films of 2015.