UNFRIENDED: THE DARK WEB

Film Review by FIORE

It seemed like a rehash:  the follow up film from BlumHouse Pictures to UNFRIENDED about boogie-men inside a compute program.  Even though all of us have experienced computer tribulations, and perhaps thought some demonic force was in control of our laptops, the concept of spooks ad ghouls in the circuits is really lame.  If memory serves this started in films with GHOST IN THE MACHINE, and should have ended there.  UNFRIENDED had the gimmick of presenting the entire narrative through the laptop screens of the characters.  UNFRIENDED: THE DARK WEB utilizes the same ploy and just when you think this is going to be a rehash of the first film, Director and Writer Stephen Susco makes a left turn and presents instead an entertaining murder thriller.  There are no ghosts, specters or demons.  There is, however, a group of terribly demented folk who play with human lives as pawns in a sick cyber game that makes GRAND THEFT AUTO look tame by comparison.  UNFRIENDED: THE DARK WEB is HARD TARGET without Jean-Claude Van Damme or John Woo.

The movie begins slowly.  The first half hour is a snail set up.  Susco  tosses in several humorous moments of laptop interaction to  keep the tale moving and the audience’s interest.  The remaining hour of the movie is intense as the friends in a chat Skype session learn they are being systematically eliminated.

Production designer Chris Davis cleverly reverts to the ploy of the classic Universal Monsters and Hitchcock in never showing the actual brutality.  It is very effective.  Judicious cuts just before the killing blow, with only sound effects allow the audiences’ imagination to fill in the missing scene far gorier than the SFX department techniques.

UNFRIENDED: THE DARK WEB stars:  Rebecca Rittenhouse; Betty Gabriel; Chelsea Alden; Colin Woodell; Andrew Lees; and Stephanie Nogueras.

They all perform well, though often over the top, which is expected in this genre of film.

Like most horror movies, this one has holes in its plot.  The killer set ups are so elaborate they are almost Bondian in nature.  And during the whole escapade, none of the protagonists thinks of just shutting off the laptop and walking away.  I guess that’s a commentary on the inability of the Millennial Generation to disconnect from their technology.  There are other useless social commentaries that serve as large plot holes to the story.  For example:  there is really no reason to have an interracial lesbian couple.  It does not play into the plot in anyway and is inserted simply to present the agenda.  Lame sauce.  Everything in a film should work towards the conclusion.  Amaya’s deafness does, and that’s why it works while still drawing attention to the social issue of the handicapped. 

All told, I was pleasantly surprised with UNFRIENDED: THE DARK WEB.  It did not follow the anticipated set up and provided solid tension during the final reels.  It’s worth a look, and should provide you with thought provoking thrills.  Just as a caveat:  never steal anyone’s laptop.