Maybe there aren't many films with the theme of cyberbullying, and "Unfriended" succeeds in presenting this very interesting theme. A theme that is still rife and requires serious handling. The message contained in it is also meaningful by inviting many people, especially teenagers, to immediately stop cyberbullying which in the end is fatal. Unlike other found footage films that use a shaky camera, "Unfriended" offers something that can be considered new and innovative through its laptop screen. This film, which was directed by Levan Gabriadze, apparently managed to make me goosebumps and make me scared.
"Unfriended" begins with Blaire (Shelley Hennig) chatting with her boyfriend,
Mitch (Moses J. Storm) via Skype. Then it was continued with the three friends
who joined, Jess (Renee Olstead), Ken Smith (Jacob Wysocki), and Adam (Will
Peltz). The three of them were invited by an account without a profile photo,
"billie227" who claimed to be Laura, their friend who had committed suicide
the year before due to cyber-bullying. Because they can't reveal the identity
of the person they think is a fad, they then accuse another friend, Val
(Courtney Halverson), and ask her to chat. Without anyone admitting it, terror
comes and goes.
Who humiliated Laura so much that she decided to kill herself? It hasn't been
answered that quickly, because it's part of the mystery piece in this film.
Before Blaire chatted with Mitch, she still had time to watch the video of
Laura's death through the website "LiveLeak", and continued with the party
video containing Laura, on the YouTube channel. The video stops because Blaire
gets a call from Mitch, which of course leaves a big mystery about what
happened in the video. Need to be patient first, because the mystery will be
revealed little by little. While waiting, we are treated to cybering and light
high school-style conversation. Everything was fine until a mysterious account
called "billie227" and Laura's Facebook account came in which kept sending
messages to Blaire. Ghost? Hackers? These questions continue to hang and
increasingly make curiosity endlessly.
Levan Gabriadze, side by side with the script written by Nelson Greaves, can
frighten every viewer, even through relatively simple scenes, such as an
account that cannot be unfriended, sending provocative pictures, to links that
lead to forums about 'possession'. Simple, but very effective in scaring. The
natural acting of the cast, which incidentally is not familiar, can provoke
horror through the appearance of their frightened expressions. Taking pictures
of the interface from the laptop screen has proven to be effective in dragging
the audience to be part of it and feel what the characters are feeling. It
didn't even take long for Levan Gavriadze to increase the intensity of his
tension by 'eliminating' one of his characters. As a result, the gripping
terror via Skype increasingly shows that this is not just an ordinary game.
Supernatural and cyber tech, two things that are far apart can be packaged so
well and neatly. Visual games through typing, copy-pasting, sending mail, to
deploying "anti-Trojan" to stop terrorists, add to the excitement for the sake
of excitement wrapped in a tense atmosphere. So if a question arises in your
mind like, "why not just turn off the laptop?", Levan Gabriadze has prepared a
classic answer in the form of a death threat. At this point, Levan Gabriadze
not only planted a message to stop cyberbullying but also explored internet
addiction which teenagers cannot just let go of. This addiction has led to
criminal acts that were previously only seen as fad or trivial.
After feeling relieved by the revelation of the mystery regarding the video
containing Laura, apparently "Unfriended" doesn't necessarily let us just
relax. There are still many more complex things that are trying to be leaked
under the duration of the film, one of which is about the fake friendship
through a death game called "Never Have I Ever". Regarding the main theme
carried out by this film, cyberbullying is carried out by those who have close
relations. Assuming that the closer the perpetrators are, the more pressure
the cyber-bullying victims receive.
Towards the final minutes, I no longer cared about the existence of the
terrorist. Whether it's a hacker who also knows them closely or is a real
'ghost'. Because I've been so satisfied with the story that is strongly
intertwined even though we are quite able to guess how this film will end. The
level of thrill presented in "Unfriended" really exceeded my previous
expectations. In the execution part, you may leave various views, maybe you
will like it or vice versa. Well, if I like how this film ends. Verdict,
“Unfriended” is one example that a film, even though it has a low budget, can
prove its superiority as long as it has good packaging.