When the Scary Stories Appeared on the Internet
Back in 2015, unlike most other genres, the horror genre had still not reached its full potential, and there was still so much more to explore in innovative ways, particularly with the advent of social media. Slasher stories and videos had gotten old, and while the found footage genre was still widely appreciated, it too was starting to fade. This called for something innovative in horror. As was the case with other genres, the social media platforms, too, needed to be explored, which is why Unfriended was so widely appreciated. The book was pitched and promoted as a curious concept where the entire story was narrated through a computer screen. This book had the potential to take the readers on virtual and nightmarish adventures, just like the lat night skypes and Facebook chats. ‘Unfriended’ was pitched in the trailers as something that was in close proximity to reality, and the outcome of the story shocking the audience. The ability of a simple video call to turn the events into horror was something that triggered countless imaginations.
Before The Game Starts
Unfriended seeks to explore the concept of technology’s impact on relationships, particularly the darker aspects they ignore on a daily basis. The interactions between the characters while they engage in a group video call leave a stark contrast to the haunting presence of Laura Barns, a dead classmate, whose suicide precipitated a viral humiliation. The film captures the phenomenon of ‘the ghost in the machine’ in real time, capturing messages, computer tabs, and periods of awkward silence. The film captures the voiceless pandemonium where thudding types of keystrokes are cloaked in a veil of silence. One By One, truths are unveiled, together liberating scars hidden deep beneath the surface. Each keystroke is a deadmin, and every typed chat is an unmasked secret, all of which combine to inflict a calculated wound on the fragile surface of a faceless relationship.
The Central Idea of the Film is the Exposure of the Characters
The special effect of a haunting was not what sustained viewer interest. It was the stripping down of the characters that kept the audience captivated. Blaire, played by Shelley Hennig, begins as the perfect girlfriend, blissfully unaware of her numerous flaws until the ghost of Laura starts pushing buttons. Mitch, the devoted boyfriend, has a façade of bitterness beneath the surface. Skeletons exist and slowly emerge from Jess, Get Val, Adam, and Ken and serve as a reminder that monsters do not only reside beyond the grave. We lie to one another and that is the real haunting. The characters do not evoke the sense of traditional horror characters. Rather, their emotional journeys seem to be more like unpolished “drawings” of teenagers battling betrayal and guilt.
The Young Cast Finding Their Place
The spice of the film had a lot to do with the rest of the crew. For instance, the very famous Shelley Hennig had to manage her fame balance and at the same time had taken on the role of Blaire. On Hennig, the way she appeared on screen as a self-assured composed young woman was in great contrast to Blaire’s character and her psyche and that duality made her performance great. As Mitch in the film, Moses Storm was still a rookie in the acting field and so his portrayal of a very awkward character made so much sense. The other members of the crew as Blaire’s friends – especially, Renee Olstead and Jacob Wysocki – were also at the beginning of their careers, and so their portrayal of confused and imperfect adolescents made sense. The reality of their lives very much resembled that of the characters that they played on screen. This means that they were also looking for balance in their lives, and so were self-doubting the decisions that they made and being judged in a way that they did not expect.
The Experiment That Paid Off
From a cinematic perspective, none was as controversial as Unfriended. Whether Gabriadze or Bekmambetov was the principal director matters less than the fact that the vision was to set it entirely on a computer screen. That was not only radical for the time, it also bore the risk of being viewed as a cheap gimmick. And while the screen was indeed on a computer, it was a novel innovation to also suggest the still amorphous concept of a horror genre to the narrative. To argue that it toed the line of art by being visually exhausting is an equal extreme as arguing for its dependence on contemporary magical digital tricks of the cinema. That said, no one is denying its impact on culture. Unlike the rest of the horror genre, it did not contain a ghost. That was simply to enhance the narrative. The true horror of the film lay in the IP of cyberbullying, online violence, and the shame that lives forever in the world of the digital.
Audience Whispers and Critical Voices
Upon its release, Unfriended was controversial in its reception, but the film certification and its exploration of the issues surrounding social media was immediate and unnerving. Cyberbullying, having social networks turn on you, and even public shaming seem to hit the teen demographic the hardest. In those days in India, where the corona pandemic and social media were simultaneously on the rise, the film struck quite the emotional chord. Unlike the critics in the West who were racking their heads to make sense of the artistic disarray the film presented, young audiences on this side of the globe embraced the film as a fervent advocacy of responsible online conduct, draped in the ghost of supernatural romanticism. The discussions and discourse stemming from this film were more critical of the unassuming individual than they were of the vengeful ghost of Laura.
Secrets from Behind the Webcam
At the time, very few knew that the entire film was shot in one house, where the cast performed long, uninterrupted scenes, adding a naturalistic, almost theatrical layer to the interactions—as though the actors were indeed confined to a digital box. Producer Timur Bekmambetov even pioneered what would later be dubbed “screenlife cinema,” with Unfriended as the flagship. It was rumored that multiple alternate endings were shot to keep audiences guessing, but the most significant surprise was the film’s cost. With a budget of less than one million dollars, the film grossed more than sixty million dollars globally, earning itself a spot as one of the most profitable horror movies of the decade.
Then there were the quieter controversies. Some felt that the film’s cyberbullying trauma was romanticized, and framed as a form of supernatural revenge. Others felt that the film was exploitative, as it relied on genuine fears that teenagers have to create cheap thrills. Even those critiques, however, highlighted the film’s timeliness. It was clear that Unfriended was more than just a horror film; it was a reflection of society—and at times, we don’t like the image we see.
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