'Blu-ray or Bust' - UNFRIENDED

'Blu-ray or Bust'

UNFRIENDED (R, 2015, 82 minutes, BLUM HOUSE/BAZELEVS PRODUCTIONS)

Oh, how social media can be a bitch.

Don’t get me wrong—I’m a big fan of Facebook.  Through the wonders of technology, I have been able to reconnect with people that were probably trying their best to forget me (sorry, mom).  High school pals, college friends, even an ex-girlfriend—most have accepted my friend requests (quite possibly out of guilt, but hey, I’ll take it), and I feel better for having each and every one of them in my life. I have friends that send me words of encouragement, friends that like the unfortunate pictures of my hair, and friends that let me know when I’m being a total jackass.

Thank goodness I have been a geek for most of my life and never did anything stupid.

UNFRIENDED tells the story of six high school friends, all in the same video chat group, who on the anniversary of the suicide of a prior friend start meeting rather unfortunate deaths.  The tale, directed by newcomer Levan Gabriadze, plays out through a computer screen, a technique that worked (mostly) for a few other movies.  It is especially effective here, and adds a sense of voyeurism that, despite what starts to unfold, you just cannot look away from.

Written by Nelson Greaves, who has a few episodes of “Sleepy Hollow” under his belt, the story explores the world of internet bullying and offers a supernatural slant that builds slowly, yet never lets up on the tension.  The only problem I have with it is the ending.  Sometimes, it seems like the horror genre produces a movie that has a great build up, a well drawn-out story, but doesn’t know how to stop itself.  The ending here seems a little much—no spoilers, but I’m not sure the last fifteen seconds are really necessary.

The attention to detail in the film is wonderful.  From the occasional screwy visuals of a webcam, to the song selection in a music library, there is a whole lot to look at while enjoying a nice tunes.  Oh, and the gory deaths…you thought the use of a blender in YOU’RE NEXT was interesting, UNFRIENDED amps it up a notch.

Spend the extra few dollars on the Blu-ray (and not just because of the gore, or the almost-boobs).  Like I mentioned, there is a lot to see here, and the visual glitches play out better in the digitized format.  However…the biggest drawback to this disc?  No special features.  At all.  Nothing.  No behind-the-scenes, no interviews, no anything.  Not even a commentary by the caterers.  Give it a few weeks, and it should be in the ten-dollar section.  Seriously, one of the worst presentations by a studio in recent memory.  It’s like they dumped it onto disc because they felt obligated.

Cheap, lazy bastards.

While I abhor online bullying, I think that in this case, if you want to bully someone, bully Blum House.  Even though I didn’t like the ending, and even though they’ve already announced a sequel (really, why not? It only took about a million to make, and the box office total was over thirty-mill in the U.S. alone…), I say give those jerks what-for.  For the product that was released, it feels disrespectful to not give those involved a pat on the back with a few interviews and some exposition of some sort.  Easy way to get yourself unfriended…

Film Grade: B

Special Features: F

Blu-ray Necessary: Recommended

T.S. Kummelman