Movie Notes: 'Unfriended' (2014) Will Creep You Online

The movie 'Unfriended' makes me grateful we have slow internet in the Philippines. The ghost killer would just give up because of frustration.

I don't have high expectations with this movie which by the way had a working title of "cybernatural" (great move of changing it) so it was a surprise that it was actually good. It was clever in combining the elements of a found footage film in the context of technology and social media.

Unfriended is a nifty film all happening on the screen of a group of teenagers; Blaire, Mitch, Jess, Adam, Ken, Val and a mysterious intruder in their group chat with a username 'billie227'.

They initially thought it was just a glitch and tried to remove the unwanted guest in their online conversations. 

Blaire started  receiving Facebook messages from Laura who have committed suicide a year ago out of embarrassment one year earlier after a compromising video of her was leaked on the internet.

Ken manages to kick out Laura for a while. But when she suddenly reappeared again Ken is seen putting his hand on a blender.

Realizing they can't escape her, they were forced into playing "Never Have I Ever" when they reveal their secrets. One by one they are killed as each 'sin' committed by them to Laura are revealed.

Like most footage films since the Blaire Witch Project, the scare effect comes from the uncomfortable proximity of the camera and the realness of the shots (pixelized screens). It makes the audience feel as if they are there and the tensed atmosphere where the ghost killer or whatever entity may jump on you anytime.

The use of technology and social media as the setting of the film provided a new variation to these sub-genre which somehow became ineffective and stale in the past years (hello Paranormal Activity).