Unfriended, a horror film directed by Levan Gabriadze and released in 2015, is an unfortunate example of a good premise wasted on poor execution. Throughout the first twenty minutes of the film I was actually very impressed with both the story and the way it was portrayed. Unfortunately the hour that followed these initial twenty minutes was a definite case of diminishing returns culminating in all-out stupidity.
Set entirely within the confines of the protagonist Blaire’s (Shelley Hennig) laptop, Unfriended at first seems like an interesting, modern re-imagining of the classic ghost story. Following a group of teenagers on what starts out as a relatively innocuous Skype call, the film takes place in real-time as the group are picked off one by one by the malevolent spirit of Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman), a classmate who has committed suicide after being bullied online.
This new genre, “computer screen film”, has the potential to be something really intriguing. I watched Unfriended on my laptop and I would definitely say that’s the best way to view it. In a way it made me feel like I was part of the action, as I could see everything that Blair could see as it was presented to her, and it therefore felt like I was experiencing some of the same things that she was.
Unfriended uses its central conceit well, especially at the start. The story is told through pretty much every possible method of online communication: Skype calls, imessages, emails, Facebook posts and messages, online forums – you name it, they use it. Overall these are done fairly well, without too much of that “hey fellow kids” style of communication when adults try to write Hip Teenage Dialogue. There were thankfully no “hellas” or “ROFLS” in this film (which would have been arguably scarier than the actual ghostly antagonist herself).
The story itself is pretty basic, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing as it works well with the way the film is told and the fact that everything is happening in real-time. At times it does get a bit ludicrous (I laughed out loud when one of the characters literally pointed a gun at his computer to threaten the ghost) and the fact that the film is chained to its concept of playing out on a computer screen means that sometimes characters have to act unnaturally to remain in front of those computer screens, carrying their laptops with them as they go to a different room in their house.
The film does attempt to portray something of a message, although it’s a pretty obvious one that anybody who’s a decent human being should already know: don’t be an asshole and cyberbully people. Do we really need to see a vengeful spirit brutally torturing teenagers to understand this message?
One thing I thought was a really good idea was the environmental storytelling used to reveal information about Blaire, through things like her Spotify playlists, her open tabs and some of the files on her computer. This is something that I thought could have been taken further, however – how about having more clues about what exactly happened to Laura hidden in the background, or how about having things changing and behaving strangely in the background to create more tension?
The acting is fairly good in this film – stand-outs are definitely Shelley Hennig as Blaire (the protagonist), Moses Storm as Mitch (Blaire’s boyfriend who is weirdly horny and apparently keeps a knife right next to his bed) and Jacob Wysocki as Ken (the “joker” of the group who is just a straight-up dickhead). They give performances that are believable even when the script goes off-the-rails quite a bit, and don’t hold back from screaming and crying up a storm, especially Hennig. Not one single character in the film is likeable, however, and even though that’s the point, it does make for exhausting viewing by the end when all of the characters have devolved into their worst possible selves and there’s nobody at all to root for.
And finally, because this is a horror film, we need to discuss what the scares are like. Well, they’re pretty much non-existent. There is a little tension that is built up at the start of the film, but that evaporates pretty quickly once the teenagers start dying in really stupid ways (like someone getting a hair straightener shoved down their throat). It’s a shame, because as I mentioned before, this film could have done a really good job of building tension by just having little weird things going on in the background of the screen. Maybe a random folder appears and disappears. Maybe some of the font starts changing in the background for a split second. Things like that, things that happen so quickly that you can’t be sure you even saw them, are great for building tension in these kinds of stories.
So, with all that said, should you watch Unfriended? I don’t think it’s an inherently bad film – I just think it could be better. I wish it was better. In the end, I say watch it, and do so on your laptop for the best experience. Thankfully it’s short, at only around 80 minutes, so it won’t take up too much of your time. Just don’t expect to be scared very much, and expect to laugh quite a bit (I mean c’mon, who on earth thought that a ghost sending a deadly note to someone’s printer is scary!?)
BEST BITS
– The environmental story-telling. I just wish there was more of it.
– The dialogue, especially the written conversations, is really realistic.
WORST BITS
– The scares are pretty much non-existent.
– At one point Blaire’s boyfriend Mitch sings this song: “two four six eight who do we appreciate? Those boobies” and wow I am actually throwing up in my mouth as I’m writing that out.
FINAL RATING: 6/10
More like this: Should You Watch Unfriended: Dark Web?
