UNFRIENDED (MA)
★★★
A movie that's essentially like watching a computer screen for 80 minutes might sound tedious but this short, sharp little horror story is ingenious and scary enough to be worth a look. It's a modest little cautionary tale about the internet age and adolescent cruelty and self-involvement that effectively builds up its suspense and dread.
We're watching an online video chat session among a group of American teenagers. Blaire (Shelley Hennig) and her boyfriend Mitch (Moses Storm) start off and are joined by their friends Jess (Renee Olstead), Adam (Will Peltz), Ken (Jacob Wysocki) and Val (Courtney Halverson).
At first it all seems pretty normal. Then along comes a mysterious stranger, Billie227, to join in – and while none of them know who "Billie" is, it becomes clear that he or she – or it – knows quite a lot about them as things start coming out they would rather not have revealed. And there seems to be a connection to Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman), a girl who committed suicide the previous year.
With clever use made of various online functions, the film manages to have a fair bit of visual variety and, while none of the characters is especially sympathetic, the young actors do quite well in playing them.
There are no special features, which is disappointing.