Unfriended: Dark Web (2018)

Truly Dreadful Film

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Unfriended: Dark Web: Matias (Colin Woodell) is a bit of a nerd but he really loves his deaf girlfriend, Amaya (Stephanie Nogueras), he's working on an app to translate his spoken words into text but she would prefer if he learned sign language, things aren't going great. but it's games night and he joins his friends online to have some fun. He has a new laptop and and as the games progress he finds hidden files and a Norah C IV starts to contact him claiming the laptop is hers, yes: he found it. But the files turn out to be vids of women who have been kidnapped and the abductors could have murdered them. The gamers are drawn into a game of cat and mouse with the denizens of the Dark Web as Amaya comes under threat.Tension builds throughout the film as the action unfolds on Skype, messages, pop-up screens and side windows. Unwise decisions are made as the online and real world battle ensues. Adequate acting all round apart from a few OTT moments by gamer AJ (Conor Del Rio) result in a convincing enough film with some shocks and frights. A worthy directorial debut by Stephen Susco who also provides the screenplay. 7.5/10.

Being a computer programmer myself, it is extremely rare to encounter a film that utilises software correctly. Obviously, copyright and other laws protect websites and programs. So it was astonishing to see accurate programming in a low budget horror film, that not only looks authentic, but was genuinely scary at times. A teenager acquires a laptop that belongs to another individual. During a Skype call with his friends, he starts to experience unusual behaviour with his laptop and soon discovers the dark web. Identical premise, similar execution and a mirrored plot that substitutes an unrealistic ghostly presence for ominous hackers. Yet, this sequel proves to be more effective with its build up, resulting in an innovative tense experience. The performances were more grounded, focusing on their close friendship, making them relatable. From a couple getting engaged to an individual programming a sign language application to assist in communicating with their lover. They felt far more human. Certain revelations with the dark web itself were, well, dark. The realism of certain discoveries, including a folder of seemingly innocent videos, felt impactful as if we were in the Skype call with themselves. A few twists and turns consequently lead to an uninspired third act that loses all the momentum that was built up. Predictable, derivative and borderline boring. Such a shame given the excellent content of the first two acts. A few silly glitches, such as webcams becoming fuzzy when hooded culprits appear, physically hacking Facebook Messenger to remove messages (impossible by the way) and the quietest speeding van ever, squander the verisimilitude of the film and settle for generic horror traits. The horror is generated from its premise, jump scares aren't required but unfortunately the narrative is plagued with them. Having said that, Dark Web is a slight improvement over the original where authenticity creates tension. But crashes out in the third act, ultimately giving us the "blue screen of death".

I never saw the first Unfriended movie, and although it looked really good, I did not know what to expect out of this sequel. I didn't expect it to be good at all, and at first I thought my initial predictions were right. But after a very slow beginning, the movie picked up and got really intense...if your looking for a scary movie, this isn't for you. But if your looking for a crazy and intense movie that is pretty good and has an interesting plot, then you will thoroughly enjoy this like my gf and I did

'UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)A stand-alone sequel to the 2014 hit found footage horror flick 'UNFRIENDED'. This one tells the story of a teenager who steals a laptop only to discover that the original owner is watching him and his friends, and he'll do anything to get it back (including kill them). The film was written and directed by horror screenwriter turned first time feature filmmaker Stephen Susco. It stars Colin Woodell, Stephanie Nogueras, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Betty Gabriel, Andrew Lees, Connor Del Rio and Savira Windyani. The movie has gotten primarily positive reviews from critics, but it kind of bombed at the Box Office it's first weekend. I really enjoyed it, much like I did it's predecessor. Matias O'Brien (Woodell) is working on an app to help him better communicate with his def girlfriend, Amaya (Nogueras). She's not impressed by it though, and she's instead upset with him about it. While trying to reconcile things with her, Matias receives a Skype call from his other friends wanting to do game night. Matias engages with them, while still trying to makeup with his girlfriend, and he's also receiving hostile messages from the original owner of the laptop he's using, which he stole. He later finds out that the guy he stole from is watching him and his friends, and they're all in grave danger over it. The movie is intense and extremely creepy and disturbing, almost for it's entirety. I've been getting bored with so many slow-paced movies lately, and I sometimes even have trouble paying attention to them, but not this one. I was totally involved with it, from start to finish. Which is kind of the way I felt about the original film as well, and all really good horror movies in general. This is definitely one of those 'really good horror movies'. I highly recommend it.