Unfriended

This was a very cool idea to do and can be potentially scary. However, the execution is absolutely awful. There's a lot of unexplained details and plot holes weirdly enough and it bugged me. Many things were mediocre and done pretty stupid. I will give credit when it's due however, it gave unintentional laughs with being so bad at some points and the deaths were a little satisfying. However, we don't know enough about the characters to care. The details that are noticed are more than baffling. This all around had some potential and it was thrown away, this was a legitimately cool idea but it's just not utilized. 5/10.

OK, I usually don't write reviews for movies, but as of today there are only reviews for the trailer and I find this to be quite stupid...similar to judging a book by its cover or by its summary...

Anyways... I just came out of the first screening of this movie in Canada. What is my first impression? My first reaction to it? I am entertained! For those who want to watch something profound, deep, meaningful or even something you will remember...this is not the right movie for you, but if you just want to get entertained for 2 hours, get some cheap scares, some good laughs (this movie is currently my #1 in most unintentionally funny movies made) and just forget about the world, this is definitely it.

Pros: - Entertaining. For me thats the most important thing. It's nothing great, but entertaining. You will have a lot of laughs and some scares. - A rather new and interesting concept. It's not as shaky and unsharp as found footage movies but isn't a normal filmed movie either....also it embodies the whole social network very well. It's feels like you are on your computer.

Mehh: - I believe it's a movie that you either watch at the cinema or not at all. I feel like it will loose most of its (already very little) tension and effect if you watch it somewhere else. - Quite forgettable. It's nothing special. It just isn't...

Cons: - The acting is quite lousy. Sometimes it's distracting, but maybe I'm too critical. - Predictable. You know from the beginning what's going to happen... - Stupid reactions...OK...this is a horror movie, so...if everyone made everything right in horror movies, half of them wouldn't exist, but I just couldn't stop thinking why they behaved the way they did...

Overall: 6.5/10 If you get a ticket, if you can convince a group of friends to join you, if you just want a date flick or are just bored and want to be entertained, this is the perfect horror movie for you. If you expect more than that, you will get disappointed.

Unfriended (2014)

*** (out of 4)

Six friends get together in a chat room on the one year anniversary of the suicide of a girl they all knew. At first the six are just having some fun but they soon realize that there's someone else online with them who is about to bring out their darkest secrets.

UNFRIENDED seems to be getting a lot of mixed reviews in regards to some people downright loving it while others finding it to be a complete mess. Logic is always a very big issue when it comes to horror films and more often than not it's best that you turn your brain off and just enjoy. While watching this film I was certainly enjoying it and I thought the mystery of what was going on was captivating but there's no question that if you start to think then you're going to find some loose ends.

With that said, I found the film's mystery to be extremely well-made and it played out quite successfully. I'm not going to spoil anything about the film since that would be unfair to new viewers but the movie uses current technologies like a chat room, instant messenger, Facebook, Skype and other things. It plays out in real time, which was another great bonus because it feels as if you're right there in this chat room. Director Levan Gabriadze and writer Nelson Greaves have really broken a wall down because there really hasn't been anything like this done before. Sure, the elements have been in other movies but never put together like this.

Another thing that works so well is that all six of the actors do a terrific job. Not for a second do you feel as if you're not watching real teenagers battle it out. Some have called the characters annoying and I'd agree with that but in this case it actually helps because these are flawed characters and their dumbness, shallowness and ugliness just helps the central mystery. Technically speaking the film is well-made and it certainly keeps you guessing as to what's going to happen next, which is the hardest thing for any horror movie to do. While I never found it to be scary, the film was still a success.

I think the film is a lot deeper than many are going to give it credit for. It's funny but I think this here really does play to generations. I'm not sure if someone in their 80's would fully get everything going on here. Not because they're not smart enough but today's times are just different and the "event" that leads to the "mystery" here is something that happens quite often on social media. This film certainly attacks current issues and does so in a believable way. UNFRIENDED is a lot smarter than most are giving it credit for.

A 21st century horror movie. The basic plot is A group of friends on an online chatroom get gatecrashed by stranger who then questions them about a friends death. A clever cheap way of making a movie that kept my attention, but not what I'd call scary. A novel idea which might frighten younger viewers.

Or "Unknown User" as it is being called in Germany. Before you come up with things like innovative and never seen before, let me refer to something called "Open Windows" (which by comparison might feel like a masterpiece and it isn't either). That's just one example there are others too (The Den to name another which is also slightly better than this).

That doesn't mean you can't have "fun" with this movie too. It's just that it feels weird to say the least. I still was curious to see where it would go, but at times it felt like watching someone type ... which it sort of is too (literally at points). Also teenager drama can be annoying, characters swing their moods more often than a pendulum and the "twist" is so mad, that it almost destroys the whole movie ... A shame for some more than interesting points the movie has.