Reel Snippet – Unfriended
Unfriended was undeniably disturbing. The premise itself is definitely creative, taking place entirely on Skype and using that single setting to make everyone seem trapped in their little windows. It also made me realize how tied to technology we all are because of how subtly disturbing and wrong seeing a window on MacBook screen with no red x in the top left or a Gmail letter with no forwarding icon was. The atmosphere was also very gripping, with most of the ambient noise coming from the computer fan. Rarely was music used except when the music player started and all that did was contribute to the horror aura with how dissonant it was.
More than anything, though, I have to applaud this movie for its message against cyberbullying. Showing the truly ugly ramifications and taking them up to eleven with the irate haunting is a great cautionary tale for the target demographic. However, the movie falls into the Friday the 13th trap of making most of the characters utter wankers with little redeemability that exist solely to get killed off without any sympathy or mourning. Some of the parts where they explain terms for the audience’s sake can also feel forced; I can accept one of the characters not knowing what a troll is, but nothing can make me believe that one of them didn’t know how to play Never Have I Ever. They’re in their late teens, for Christ sake! If more of the movie was like this, it would have been insufferable, but I actually liked Unfriended a lot more than I thought I would. I wouldn’t see it again, but it was still good enough for one viewing.
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