Unfriended (2014) Movie Review

Unfriended

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.


SCORE

7/10


Dava

Hanya seorang manusia biasa yang hobi nonton film dan main game

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