437: Unfriended: Dark Web

[00:00:00] Alright, let's get to the last movie, which is Unfriended Dark Web. This one came out in 2018. Stars Colin Woodall, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Betty Gabriel, Andrew Lees, Connor Del Rio, Stephanie Nogurias, and Severo Windiani.

[00:00:52] And the synopsis is, 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.

[00:01:00] Like I said, I just watched this one for the first time a few days ago when I watched the Blair Witch franchise and I could not believe, I don't think it's a masterpiece, I don't

[00:01:07] think it's best of the year, best of the decade horror, but in terms of low budget, concept oriented horror films, found footage, whatever you want to call it, it's pretty darn unsettling. And this movie made me not want to go online or use my phone anymore.

[00:01:25] And that's why I think it's so much better than the first one because this is, for the most part, grounded in a full reality. Yes, there are aspects with the Dark Web gang or organization in terms of their efficiency

[00:01:40] and getting the one up on certain characters and being in certain places when it would be hard to organize all that, but talking about the Dark Web world and how people can be so careless with putting information online, going to certain websites, using things that

[00:01:59] aren't theirs, downloading viruses accidentally or this or that, it's very, very realistic in my opinion. Maybe I'm talking crazy but I was like, this could be anyone I know that could be doing this and could accidentally come across this computer or maybe have someone steal their

[00:02:17] computer or use their phone or hack into one of their accounts. It's all really well done and it makes you, like I said, it makes you not want to go online anymore or create an account online anywhere.

[00:02:30] Delete all your social media, delete everything from your phone, go off the grid. That's what this movie made me feel like and I was not expecting that at all. I thought this was going to be a lame, repetitive, shallow, lazy sequel and it is the exact opposite.

[00:02:46] I would recommend this to anyone. If you want to watch a really unsettling movie that, to me, felt like it was in a true reality, watch it because it does way more with the budget, with the concept and the ideas than you would expect.

[00:03:02] It does a lot more than what most people have in terms of big budgets, big cast. It does a lot with very little. A great sequel. I would be very excited to see the third one.

[00:03:16] In terms of certain parts of the movie, I like the kidnapping angle where suddenly someone will be in one of the characters' houses from behind and there'll be that staticky look to the screen and then someone is blindfolded or put a hood over their head and they're

[00:03:33] grabbed and then there's the footage of the women being held captive. That stuff is horrifying and disturbing and that also, sadly, feels like a reality in some ways, especially depending on where you live and is a very real fear of a lot of people

[00:03:49] in terms of how easy it is to be picked up, to be followed in today's world. And then the main character trying to coordinate with his girlfriend who is deaf and that lack of communication and that barrier there is really interesting.

[00:04:07] The character who is the YouTuber, like radical YouTuber, who ends up getting killed, that's the only part that's a little goofy where characters are screaming at him to not go up the stairs and to please get down on the ground because the cops are in his house and

[00:04:23] then the hacker uses the shotgun sound and clicking and cocking sound to make the cops think he has a gun. That is a really interesting idea and it's well done but I think the logic of it is a

[00:04:36] little much, a little goofy but it is what it is. Not a big deal but the main character who is lying about where he got the computer and then having to lie to this person and tell the truth again, that's really effective.

[00:04:49] And the final sequence where you think you are getting the one up on these hackers, the dark webbers, and then you're actually not and the characters, all of them get screwed in one way or the other.

[00:05:01] Even just the stuff with like Photoshop and all that stuff, you fully believe that is something people actually do. And I'm sure they do. In terms of making people think, oh I was here, I wasn't there, this was me, this wasn't me, who to trust.

[00:05:18] So all that is really good. The situation with the girl and her wife and then her dying mother is interesting. Again the logic is a little goofy in terms of her not making a decision but the actual execution of the sequence itself is effective.

[00:05:36] Really that main idea of how crazy and secretive the internet is and the dark web, I have no experience with that but realizing what kind of people are online and what they can do to you.

[00:05:50] This movie hits home way more than a lot of other movies I can think of dealing with the internet, with digital media, social media, hacking, anything like that. It hits home in a lot of ways I think and it would for almost anyone if you are online

[00:06:02] at all which is basically everyone in the world. Really good movie, really unsettling, chilling, makes me just not want to do anything online ever. Like I said, makes me want to go into blackout mode for sure but sadly that's not the case in today's reality.

[00:06:19] So give it a watch. It's one that you can read the title and maybe think that sounds so stupid. Unfriended Dark Web. Sounds goofy, sounds like a low budget B movie which I guess it is technically but

[00:06:32] the execution, the quality is way better than a lot of other horror movies that I've seen especially with this budget, with this production and studio and cast. It's pretty darn good. So that is a heavy 4 out of 5.