Director: Stephen Susco
Writer: Stephen Susco (Screenplay)
Starring: Colin Woodell, Stephanie Nogueras, Betty Gabriel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Andrew Lees, Connor Del Rio
Plot: A teen comes into possession of a new laptop and soon discovers that the previous owner is not only watching him, but will also do anything to get it back.
Tagline – Some secrets are killer!
Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Huge Improvement on the Original
Story: Unfriended: Dark Web starts when Matias (Woodell) comes into possession of a new laptop, he has been producing an app which help him communicate with his deaf girlfriend Amaya (Nogueras) through Skype. Having a normal night on Skype with his friends Nari (Gabriel), Serena (Rittenhouse), Damon (Lees), AJ (Del Rio) and Lexx (Windyani).
Over the night Matias learns the owner of the computer wants it back and they are involved in the dark web of snuff films, Matias gets caught up in the middle of a blackmailing ring as the people involved want their secret kept.
Thoughts on Unfriended: Dark Web
Characters – Matias is the computer programming that has been developing an app to help communicate with his girlfriend who is deaf. He has a new laptop one he picked up in a coffee shop, this holds a secret which has put his and his friends lives at risk. Amaya is the deaf girlfriend who is mostly just a pawn in the killer’s game, she is important to what is going on, though she doesn’t need to do much. Nari and Serena are a couple that are part of the conversation, Nari is the one that doesn’t believe anything going on. We have the normal supporting characters, the cocky one the smart etc. we also see the characters that are trying to get the laptop back and keep their secrets.
Performances – The performances in the film are fine through the film, nobody stands out and most of the performances work well interacting with each other, we believe they are friends which is all we need them to do.
Story – The story here heads in a different direction after the first film being a ghost seeking revenge on the bullies that caused her death, which is based on creating horrific death scenes and not much else about it. This story dives into an innocent group of young adults that have accidently got themselves mixed up with a criminal snuff group who operate on the dark web. This adds more dimensions to the story because we get to see how this operates and can see how big the organisation will be. It would be fair this could be a stand-alone movie because it doesn’t have any connection to the original and doesn’t involve unfriending anyone of facebook, meaning it could have just been called ‘Dark Web’. The world building involved in the film is a highlight for me as we can continue with more films in the future.
Horror – For the horror side of the film, it would be fair to say things have changed and nothing feels quite as scary anymore. We focus mainly on what we see within the Dark Web with snuff videos.
Settings – The film keeps our characters in their apartments which is fine because our characters feel safe until they get to learn who they are dealing with.
Special Effects – The effects are good because whenever the figures appear it becomes distorted as they know how to hide their identities.
Scene of the Movie – The River.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – If you were a fan of the original this is very different and could annoy you.
Final Thoughts – This is a big improvement from the original and builds a world I want to see the next chapter off, the Dark Web is the perfect place for horror.
Overall: Big Steps in the right direction.
Rating
