Film Review: Unfriended: Dark Web

"We Have To Do Something And We Have To Do It Now..."

With the release of Unfriended back in 2015 one of which here at Black Ribbon was welcomed with warm, open arms and a sense of pride that the long-standing genre of horror found-footage was beginning to explore wilder and more contemporary avenues of storytelling, a sequel was something of which that did seem rather unwarranted and strange considering the undeniable one-trick pony effect of seeing a particular gimmick once may actually be more than enough the first time around. That aside, as per the conventions of modern cinema, monetary issues undeniably talk and here we have this week, Unfriended: Dark Web, a continuation of the found footage format which sees a group of unsuspecting youths being pawns in a murderous game of technological blackmail within a sequel which this time decides to drop the supernatural element of the its' predecessor and instead focus more so on the seedier side of the web and social media with a more realistic approach, and whilst Dark Web may not be as fresh or as creepy as the body of work the movie follows on from, the latest Blumhouse Productions release is still an interesting and engaging hard-edged thriller. 

With the release of the highly entertaining Searching this month bringing the cinematic format utilised by the original Unfriended to a wider audience, it seems strange to find two releases within a short time-span to focus on stories told predominantly upon the technological screens of our leading heroes, and whilst Searching was a paranoid ridden thriller which edged towards a sense of cheesiness as it reached its' conclusion, the film's sense of danger and threat perils in comparison to Dark Web, with its' unrelenting bleakness and cold-hearted treatment of its' characters particularly cruel, harbouring a violent and dark sensibility which echoed the likes of The Belko Experiment. With a screenplay which includes a wide range of technological jargon and geeky terminology, it is to the film's credit that you never become lost or left behind as the film moves forward through plot twists and inevitable deaths, and whilst at times particular narrative resolutions aren't entirely convincing, director Stephen Susco does utilise the talents of the film's young cast to provide some solid performances which paper over the cracks which often appear, and whilst Dark Web strangely seems to leave the common jump-scare tactic of horror movies behind, its' focus on the seedy and the uncanny result in the movie being a sequel which attempts something fresh and just happens to succeed. 

Overall Score: 6/10