Today, I will be reviewing "Unfriended." "Unfriended" is a new horror movie that tells the story differently than other horror films. It is attempting to do something fresh and exciting with the horror genre. Does it succeed? It is time to find out! Before I get started, I'd like to give a shoutout to the Free Gamer's Alliance YouTube channel. Their videos cover everything from walkthroughs, glitches, easter eggs, and various amusing video game related content, all of which is delivered with some colorful commentary while they have buckets of fun doing it. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/user/FreeGamersAlliance/
For those of you unfamiliar with this one, here is the trailer:
- Telling the story through a mix of Skype, Facebook, and other means is a very smart way of doing this. It also feels quite fresh which is nice as many modern horror movies tend to feel a bit stale.
- There are many instances where the film accurately captures the way that we interact with each other online.
The Bad:
- The characters are written in such a way that it becomes impossible to become invested in them. They are either incredibly unlikeable, incredibly stupid, or both. I know that horror doesn't really have to be character driven but it would be nice to be able to root for at least one person.
- The movie starts out quite slow. You may find yourself a bit bored at the beginning of the movie.
- The attempts at scares are very poorly timed.
- Finally, it tends to play it a bit safe when it comes to the horrible things that happen. For a horror movie to have high stakes, really really bad things need to happen. The things that do happen are bad but I feel like it could have been taken a bit farther.
The Verdict:
"Unfriended" is a horror movie that shows a lot of promise due to it's creative premise. Unfortunately, it tends to fall short in many other important aspects of a horror film. While it isn't the worst horror movie that I've seen, it is far from living up to it's potential. I would say watch this movie on TV or Netflix instead of paying to see it in theaters.
Thanks for reading everyone! As usual, feel free to leave a comment but please be advised that if you read any potential comments that spoilers may be present.