Unfriended (2014)

A 2014 American teen horror directed by Leo Gabriadze; ‘Unfriended’ tells the story of a group of six teenager’s video chat as they are interrupted by an unseen figure with the identity of their deceased friend. While they think it’s a prank, they are soon exposed to malicious acts of vengeance.

Superficially, this is a horror movie, although its distinct lack of such important elements as mounting suspense and genuine scares forces us to think otherwise. The only attempt of tension the movie makes simply involves staring at a video that's loading, the long pauses between messages when the person on the other end is occupied, and Blaire typing and deleting—and re-typing and again deleting—various messages to the mysterious being. The cheap, disappointing jump scares which interrupt these tensions feel blatant and predictable.

Furthermore, all of these characters are self-absorbed and emotionless, at times, it felt like they were merely props or neutral facets of continuing the plot. The idea of watching someone’s computer screen with video calls and texts to push the plot line should be intriguing but the participants are restricting the audience of any emotional connection or empathetic response; an immensely important factor to engage the viewers. The majority of the movie is spent staring at static web browser and program windows on Blaire's (Shelley Hennig) desktop. Within those windows are text bubbles featuring the written exchanges between two characters in the typical, lazy shorthand of online communication. This slang that’s often used creates a sense of irony and misplacement throughout the film which further restricted myself from any connection I wanted to feel for the victimised protagonists.

Yes, the films underlying message is obvious but some credit must be give to the creepy, more subtle effect of this movie. I know all of us are familiar with technology and computers and this familiarity of the setting could distract us from the little messages we are ignoring. Pushing past the common perspective of a computer, you have to see those browsers, with all their irritating little features and ads and prompts, all those designs that have become embedded in your subconscious mind, emphasised by screenwriter Nelson Greaves and director Leo Gabriadze.

In addition, the music was engaging and at times creepy caused by frequent contrast of low notes to high notes with pop music creating a sense of irony and unsurity. Characters are shown selecting tracks from Spotify to match their mood at various points, blurring the distinction between diegetic and non-diegetic music. I appreciated this creative way of including sound as it reinforced the normality of this technological perspective causing me to feel skeptical of my day-to-day use of it. Physically, this movie looks appealing; the dark, blue tones of the character’s surroundings with a slight vignette of the bodies of the characters themselves successfully produce a remorseful and regretful mood, much like the protagonists emotions. This contrasts with their bright, saturated computer screens showing contrast of real life against digital reality and the ease of ruining someone’s life online.

The movie’s message is clear: Cyber-bullying is bad. "Unfriended" is, one supposes, partially an overblown attempt to scare people straight about that despicable trend, but instead, the movie might just make people associate bullying with a hollow, tedious endeavour that lacks any satisfaction.

With all things considered, I would personally not recommend this movie to someone looking for a horror but to someone who can push past the limitations of a profound concept with an amateur execution. The contrast of a universal perspective with spiritual beings and brainwashing, may allow you realise there’s something uncanny and strange about living your life online. This is the huge altar at which we are all worshipping.