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UNFRIENDED — Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger 0 Comments
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Like Unfriended, Simon Verhoeven taps into social media to propel this tech-terror thriller which starts out with a provocative premise before it inevitably dissolves into clichéd carnage. College student Laura Woodson (Alycia Debnam-Carey) is undoubtedly one of the most popular coeds on campus. Since she has more than 800 ‘friends,’ she graciously accepts a ‘friend’ request from lonely Marina Mills (Liesl Ahlers), a strange, hoodie-clad, Goth-like classmate. Continue reading…

But then Marina becomes obsessed with Laura, who lies to her about a birthday party. That tips troubled Marina over the edge, causing Laura to ‘unfriend’ her. In retaliation, Marina posts a video in which she’s seen committing suicide by hanging herself and setting herself on fire.
In an accompanying message, Marina vows that Laura will soon understand what real loneliness is. And that’s just the beginning of the torment Marina directs toward Laura. Cyberstalking reigns, as horrific videos suddenly begin appearing under Laura’s name.

Unable to delete the videos and cancel her demonic on-line account, Laura takes desperate measures, enlisting the services of a hacker, Kobe (Connor Paolo), when her real-life friends start being ceremonially killed by grisly, gruesome, supernatural methods, particularly CGI wasps.

“That’s not code,” Kobe declares, examining the mystical videos of their deaths. “I think it’s a ritual.”

Or, as the tagline proclaims, “Evil is trending.”

Co-writing the screenplay with Matthew Ballen and Philip Koch, German director Simon Verhoeven is the son of director Michael Verhoeven and actress Senta Berger. He is not related to Dutch director Paul Verhoeven.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Friend Request” is a formulaically trashy, throwaway 3, filled with far too many jump scares.

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Susan Granger

Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at R.K.O., M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures; her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M. As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O'Brien and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Phi Beta Kappa, with highest honors in journalism. During her adult life, Susan has been on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic. Her newspaper reviews have been syndicated around the world, and she has appeared on American Movie Classics cable television. In addition, her celebrity interviews and articles have been published in REDBOOK, PLAYBOY, FAMILY CIRCLE, COSMOPOLITAN, WORKING WOMAN and THE NEW YORK TIMES, as well as in PARIS MATCH, ELLE, HELLO, CARIBBEAN WORLD, ISLAND LIFE, MACO DESTINATIONS, NEWS LIMITED NEWSPAPERS (Australia), UK DAILY MAIL, UK SUNDAY MIRROR, DS (France), LA REPUBBLICA (Italy), BUNTE (Germany), VIP TRAVELLER (Krisworld) and many other international publications through SSG Syndicate. Susan also lectures on the "Magic and Mythology of Hollywood" and "Don't Take It Personally: Conquering Criticism and other Survival Skills," originally published on tape by Dove Audio.