Though presented as a horror flick, “Unfriended” is more of a teen comedy crossed with an IT help video. But rest assured, a character still gets to deliver the obligatory line, “I don’t wanna die.” Which IT departments really should take out of their tutorials.
One year after teenager Laura Barns’ (Heather Sossaman) suicide, six of her friends hang out via Skype to discuss whether prom night should be “the night.” But they realize there’s a seventh chatter—the account of their deceased pal, who kind of destroys the prom excitement by insisting, “If you sign off, you die.” The only curse she conjures, however, is the common horror movie problem of being unintentionally hilarious.
Written by someone who worked on stunts for “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and overseen by the director of “Yolki 2” and “Yolki 3” but not the original “Yolki” (surely you’ve seen the entire Russian trilogy), “Unfriended” unfolds entirely on the screen of good girl Blaire’s (Shelley Hennig) MacBook. It’s a slick gimmick. Blaire effortlessly navigates between Skype, iMessage, Gmail, Facebook, YouTube and Google, and it’s easy to follow along with her if by any chance you’ve used those platforms. After what feels like 18 “Paranormal Activity” movies, it’s hard to make found footage seem fresh, but “Unfriended” manages it by keeping its audience plugged in like a character.
Of course, there are those accidentally funny moments. The accurate depiction of videos and downloads taking time to load may have been intended to build suspense but just feel as annoying as dealing with a slow computer at the office. Near the end, Blaire tries to get help by pleading her case to strangers on Chatroulette (what is this, 2010?). And seriously, once kids start dying, why not at least try to close the MacBook?
Fortunately, the plot is driven less by the horrors of a dead girl killing off her friends online and more by the slow reveal of what terrible people these teenagers are, and that’s more intriguing than expected. The secrets come to light when Laura’s account demands they all play a game—Never Have I Ever. “Like the drinking game?” someone asks.
“But in this version, the loser doesn’t drink. The loser dies.”
Who needs scares when a movie delivers this big on laughs?
Lauren Chval is a RedEye special contributor.
2 stars (out of four)
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