The dark web is a small portion of the deep web that harbors a significant magnitude of Interweb mystery.
A host of expert publications have attempted to unravel the truths regarding the dark corridors of the hidden web and the scale of its popularity.
Certainly, the seemingly sinister nature of the dark web begs human curiosity and attracts the attention of global law enforcement.
But how much do you know about the dark web? An upcoming horror movie may be the ultimate fodder for your dark web-curious hunger.
'Unfriended 2: Dark Web' is a film that centers on just how horrific the dark web is.
A follow-up to the 2014 horror film of the same name, the second darknet-centric version was unveiled in March of this year at SXSW. Popular reviews describe the movie as a brutal and real-time explication of the looming menace that typifies the eerie nature of the digital age.
The film will be officially released in the United States on July 20.
The Plot
The movie's trailer opens up to a scene showing a young 20-something-year-old man named Matias.
From the beginning, it appears that he has joined his friends for a video chat using a computer that does not belong to him.
Matias manages to boot up the computer's Spotify application, which reveals a stranger's login information, displayed as Norah C.IV.
Matias updates his peers concerning the computer that he retrieved from a lost and found bin.
As expected, his friends had earlier assumed that he had stolen it.
Nonetheless, Matias goes ahead to inform them that he stumbled upon a cache of hidden files in the computer, which directed him to a strange cascade of information.
It did not take much talking for one of his friends to realize what Matias had penetrated-the dark web.
Matias appears to be totally ignorant of the dark web as his friends take turns to educate him on the mysteries of the hidden web.
One friend mentions the dark web's attribute of anonymity, where people may operate without being tracked.
Another friend shares that the dark web is rimmed with illegal IDs and is a place where paid assassinations are ordered.
In conclusion, he declares the dark web to be mostly about the "bad guys."
Matias proceeds to click on a series of films showing young women and people's homes, all of which are frightening.
His rather spooked buddies marvel at the quality of realism expressed in the videos and ask him to stop displaying the content.
As human curiosity would have it, the six friends would hang on with hope that they may "do something about it."
Suddenly, a new chat thread pops up and it is at this point that the group realizes they're in deep trouble.
An anonymous message quizzes them on where they had gotten the laptop, with a stern warning to the group about their possible temptation to disconnect the communication or call the police.
Intriguingly, the mystery typist notifies them that he is fully aware of all their actions and candidly states that their failure to cooperate would lead to death.
Matias goes into a state of panic as the situation escalates beyond his nerves.
While still on call, the group watches as Lex, one of their friends, is forcefully pushed off the roof of a building to her death.
The friends soon discover they have become targets in a horror story that they had not bargained for.
The movie trailer then spirals out of control with grim depictions of home invasions and kidnappings, torture and graphic deaths that graduated from an otherwise innocent video call.
Movie Trailer Review
The movie trailer for 'Unfriended 2: Dark Web' provides a bleak sneak peek into the realities of the hidden web.
It comes off as a dramatically scary film that works to present the actual representation of untold stories regarding modern internet usage.
The most unsettling elements of the film are expressed skillfully and resonate in a rather realistic fashion.
To the layperson that has never heard of the hidden web, 'Unfriended 2: Dark Web' succeeds in explicitly exposing its viewers to the fear-inducing components of the dark web.
Some Facts About the Dark Web
In actuality, the dark web is an endless boulevard that is paved with creepy intrigues and illicit activities.
Dark web stories take the most outrageous of forms in the literary context and can scare any human being with a working conscience.
But still, the majority of online populace lack information about some of the scary websites that rule the darknet.
Behold is a representative collection of some of the most hair-raising realities about dark web sites:
Cannibal Sites
The dark web is reportedly filled with websites that uphold cannibalism and its associated tendencies.
This vice is reflected through cannibal chatrooms and guides appertaining to the shocking practice of consuming human flesh.
Expectedly, these sites vary in both complexity and subject matter.
Some sites can be considered simple owing to the fact that they support discussions of amateur cannibalism.
Others are quite bizarre and can be outrageous enough to host persons who volunteer to be eaten.
In some sites, cannibals organize online meetups with the intention of eating each other. It is said that most people offering to be eaten tend do so in exchange of monetary benefits.
Human Experiments
As blood-curdling as it sounds, human experiments have been reported in the darkest embers of the dark web. There exists a site called 'The Human Experiment' that is managed by a band of deviants.
It is reported that the site managers routinely abduct people with the sole intention of using them as experimental specimens.
But what is the point?
Shockingly, The Human Experiment was created just for fun.
Its victims undergo extreme experimental trials such as being subjected to starvation, radiation treatment, exposure to dangerous chemicals, just to name a few.
Hitmen
This component forms a significant fiber of dark web shopping where people may turn to in search of hitman services.
It is important to note that some of these hitmen websites have been implicated in scams aimed at fleecing large amounts of money from unsuspecting dark web visitors.
A good example is that of a 2016 hitmen-for-hire scam that was discovered by British researchers.
Besa Mafia, the website in this case, held the description of a marketplace that hosted the most vicious hitmen of the Albanian Mafia who were at the disposal of potential clients.
Actually, it turned out that paid hits were never orchestrated and many people lost their Bitcoins in the process.
Nonetheless, make no mistake; some dark web-supported hitman services are reported to be real.
Hitmen platforms are fueled by cryptocurrencies, and like popular darknet sites, they transact using Bitcoin.
This is due to the fact that the websites demand utmost anonymity of transactions to stay under the police radar.
An interesting snippet into the world of dark web assassination provides that pricing is contingent on a target's social placement.
In part, it would be more expensive for a person to kill a public figure when compared to ordinary people who roam country streets.
Websites on Women and Their Stillborn Children
Just when you thought that you had seen and heard it all, behold is another exemplification of how bone-chilling the dark web can mean to be.
Yes, there are allegedly sites on the dark web where women share images of their stillborn children with other people that relate to the same predicament.
It is alleged that this practice is supported by people who believe that sharing such content is meant to alleviate the individual suffering of those who have undergone fateful pregnancies.
Certainly, the imagination of a photo gallery filled with images of dead children can be a total scare to many, and it is said that these sites are also home to people who like to view videos of women giving birth to stillborn babies.
It is however important to note that these sites lack a sexual connotation, but have been created to help grieving mothers cope with their pain.
Red Rooms
Moving further, red rooms are sites that have long been associated with dark web activity.
This component denotes areas where human beings are graphically killed for the visual enjoyment of others.
In this respect, people are slaughtered on camera while darknet chatroom visitors watch in real time.
It is claimed that red room sites will typically provide options of "Pay per View," which prompt users to make payments using Bitcoin before they can view the available content.
However, notwithstanding, some people tend to dismiss red rooms as just a terrible hoax.