Review of Unfriended (2014) by Spencer M — 11 Aug 2015

You know what the worst part about being a huge fan of horror movies is? The fact that eventually, you stop being scared by them. It's a genre where half of the entertainment is centered on experiencing that thrill of being frightened. Now, when a part of the human nature is to adapt, that thrill can steadily be eroded, or as some would also call it, desensitized. On the one hand, that's a good thing. Not being scared means we can stay focused in a frightening situation, allowing us to think our way out. On the other, it means that whenever we WANT to experience that thrill again, it's a little harder to accomplish. So when an avid horror fan like myself is actually drawn into the suspense of a movie, that movie pulled it off, though maybe not with the best delivery.

Unfriended is a 2014 horror flick that was originally meant to be shown on MTV. Instead it got turned a 2015 worldwide theatrical release by Universal Studios. The reason for this change is because when the teaser trailer for the movie was put online, it got so much positive feedback that the company realized that a theatrical release would be so much more profitable than putting it on television. Thus we got movie tickets to see this flick on the big screen.

The very first thing I should mention is that the entire movie is shown through the screen of our lead character, an average teenage girl named Blaire played by Shelly Hennig. This can be very distracting to anybody who hasn't grown up with the digital age. In fact, a good chunk of the negative reviews I've found were from older people who fell into that exact category. But for the demographic audience, not only does it really ring true to our day and age of social media, but it helps with the suspense because of just how accurate it is with the portrayal of using our computers.

Blaire is joined on a skype chat with her five friends: Val, Mitch, Adam, Jess, and Ken. Much like Ouija, they don't have a lot of character outside of being typical teenagers, but they do their best to give a good performance despite this. Honestly, the best ones are Ken, Val and Adam, who actually have characteristics written into them (aside from the obvious).

They find their chat includes another person, a skype profile that belongs to someone who committed suicide exactly one year ago after a video was leaked making her the laughing stock of the school, a girl by the name of Laura Barnes. Whoever did it seems to also have access Laura's facebook account too, along with a slew of bizarre abilities over everyone's computers. Basically what follows is your typical spirit's revenge story.

I won't say this movie did anything revolutionary or groundbreaking. It's really just another horror film with some clichés thrown in. It does manage to suck you into what's going on, but that's more because you want to see WHAT happens rather than WHO it happens to, and it has the advantage to improve that curiosity through the medium that the film plays out as. Speaking of which, a lot of the other reviews I've read make a very good point: Seeing this movie on a computer screen rather than the theater will greatly improve the movie, because the medium will match the mode of viewing. Just something to consider when deciding to see this movie or not.

This film is likely to be dated, but at the same time, that's what it was going for. It's specifically made to connect with our generation,and it hits that nail right on the head. Thinking back on it, though, I can certainly see that this is going to be one of those love it or hate it films. Everyone's going to have their own reaction to it and it may even get a cult following and several shitty sequels/spinoffs. That said,I personally found it at least enjoyable and refreshing as far as modern horror goes, and definitely worth seeing in theaters.