Review! Unfriended

Unfriended (2015) Directed by Levan Gabriadze. Starring: Heather Sossaman, Matthew Bohrer, Courtney Halverson. IMDB Says: “A group of online chat room friends find themselves haunted by a mysterious, supernatural force using the account of their dead friend.”

Unfriended is a new horror film presented in a found footage style. It is directed by relative newcomer Levan Gabriadze and centers around a group of friends videochatting through Skype when they are confronted by what seems to be a friend of theirs who had committed suicide a year prior. The film does shine some light on the issue of cyberbullying which has been a hot-button issue in the news media as of late, but thankfully the film does not center around this nor does it try to preach a message.

The movie is very visually innovative. Essentially the entire film is seen through someone’s computer screen. Literally every piece of action or plot point occurs on the main character’s computer, never does the camera come off of that screen. This may sound like an odd way to shoot a film but it is surprisingly effective and feels very fresh and modern. It honestly lends a sense of realism to the film that I think amplifies the fear it induces. It’s also noteworthy that principal photography lasted only 12 days and total production was a hair over two weeks. That’s astonishing to me because the film feels very polished and well put together.

The meat and potatoes of this film is that this group of friends bullied Laura until she was forced to kill herself. Now through various technological means, Laura is back to exact revenge on those who have wronged her. Admittedly, after seeing the trailer I was intrigued but the whole plot seemed sort of thin. I expected a sort of cheesy, teen horror that wouldn’t do much in the way of scaring me. After seeing the film, I can say my expectations were greatly exceeded. Several scenes contributed to an overall creepy feeling. The film doesn’t rely on jump scares or cheap sound effects to get a rise out of the audience. It very slowly produces this sense that something isn’t quite right. The action sequences give brief flashes of violence and gore that serve to make the viewer feel almost off-balance, not sure what to expect next.

The acting is strong but there aren’t a whole lot of opportunities for the cast to really shine. In fact, a good chunk of dialogue takes place through text, in the form of messages on the aforementioned computer screen. I give a lot of credit to the director for the way it was shot, it truly is something unique and I felt it added quite a lot to the realism of the film. I honestly don’t have many complaints, on the whole this is a very strong film. Perhaps I’m a bit biased because I really enjoy horror and I like seeing innovating shooting styles and directorial visions; but I really think this will be a hit. I haven’t seen a film recently that has creeped me out quite as much as Unfriended did and that earns this an A+ in my book.