After being cyber-bullied until she committed suicide, a teenage girl’s ghost seeks revenge online.
Over the course of a Skype chat amongst five friends, secrets will be revealed and vengeance extracted when they are unfriended.
We say, “Unfriended is novel and slightly interesting, but not exciting.”
TAYLOR: Note the photo for this review; this is what you’ll be watching for 90 minutes: the main character’s computer screen. (I could tell you her name, but it doesn’t matter. This isn’t that kind of movie.) Sometimes she’ll bring up a new window: A Wiki page explaining how ghosts can make you kill yourself, a Facebook messenger tab with PM’s for her boyfriend, a YouTube video, but for the most part, you’ll be watching five friends interact on Skype. If you are unfamiliar with terms such as these, please continue reading, but don’t bother to see Unfriended.
What interested me about the film is that it provides a glimpse into a new form of communication, new ways to keep secrets, new ways to make the choice to be good or bad. Cyber-bullying is real. The way these kids interact with each other is illustrative. Unfortunately, the format becomes a bit annoying. Imagine five people excitedly arguing, upset, yelling, screaming, simultaneously. Then, after they start dying, you realize you’re going to have to sit through this process repeatedly and you become bored. Call it the Paranormal Activity effect: 20 minutes of nothing followed by a fleeting glimpse of a “boo!”
HOWE: I like the idea of Unfriended, it’s just that it was poorly executed. I watched a similar movie on Netflix called The Den a few weeks back. The Den also only shows the computer screen. You are seeing what the viewer is seeing and it is grisly.
I agree that Unfriended is 20 minutes of nothing followed by 30 seconds of bedlam and then the cycle repeats. I didn’t find it remotely scary. I’ve seen more frightening stuff than this watching R.L. Stine on the kids channel at home.
TAYLOR: There are a couple of scares, but for the most part, you’re just waiting for something to happen. Look up some still shots of the film online and you’ll be privy to the scariest bits. There are some good scary movies coming out this year (I hope), wait for them.
HOWE: I really can’t find any positives with Unfriended. It’s not scary, it doesn’t make you jump, it’s not that entertaining. The only thing that it does have good going for it is Blaire’s (Shelly Hennig) folder of music on her laptop.
– Taylor gives Unfriended 2 personal party games out of 5.
– Howe gives it 1.5 food blenders out of 5.
Brian Taylor and Peter Howe are film reviewers based in Vernon, B.C.
