Unfriended: Dark Web

Unfriended: Dark Web
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Stephen Susco
Produced by
Written by Stephen Susco
Starring
Cinematography Kevin Stewart
Edited by Andrew Wesman
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09) (SXSW)
  • July 20, 2018 (2018-07-20) (United States)
Running time
 92 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $1 million[1]
Box office $9.6 million[2]

Unfriended: Dark Web is a 2018 American horror film written and directed by Stephen Susco in his directorial debut. The film is shot from the point-of-view of smartphones and computer screens. The film stars Colin Woodell, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Betty Gabriel, Connor Del Rio, Andrew Lees, Stephanie Nogueras, and Savira Windyani.[3] It is a stand-alone sequel to the 2014 film Unfriended, and follows a group of friends who find a laptop that has access to the dark web, only to realize they are being watched by the original owners.

The film had its world premiere at the South by Southwest festival on March 9, 2018, and was released in the United States on July 20, 2018, by Universal Pictures' OTL Releasing and Blumhouse Productions' BH Tilt. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and has grossed over $9 million, against a production budget of $1 million.

Plot

Matias O'Brien is working on a new laptop he has acquired, originally belonging to someone named Norah C. IV. He begins working on Papaya, an app he is making for his deaf girlfriend Amaya: the app listens to the user's voice and posts their words on the screen. However, Amaya is upset because the app only makes it convenient for her to understand him, but not for him to understand her.

Matias keeps getting messages for Norah from someone named Erica. He gets on a Skype video call with his friends - tech wiz Damon, conspiracy theorist and YouTube-personality AJ, DJ Lexx, and couple Serena and Nari - and becomes frustrated with the computer constantly restarting. Serena and Nari reveal that they just got engaged. Serena wishes she told her mom sooner because her mom is on life support due to brain cancer.

Matias discovers that Erica is actually Norah. As he had taken the laptop from a lost and found bin at a cyber cafe, he prepares to return it. He sees a message for Norah about payment they received for a video. Curious, he converses with this mystery person. The user, Charon68, talks to Matias through a message board called The River. All his friends are watching Matias's actions through a shared screen, and AJ recognizes this as the dark web. The user mentions a video, as well as trephination. Matias looks up trephination, and they all learn it means drilling a hole in a person's skull. He stops talking to Charon68, disturbed.

Damon realizes that "Norah C." is just Charon spelled backwards. The group finds hidden videos, most of which are of girls being tortured. Matias looks up the address on one of the videos and sees that a girl went missing from there: it's Erica Dunne, the person whose account Charon was using. Matias receives a video call from Amaya. However, she is in the shower. Instead, he sees a hooded figure knock out her roommate Kelly; the figure turns out to be Norah C/Charon. He demands the laptop back or he will kill Amaya.

Matias notices Nari trying to call the police. He stalls and says it was all a game he's making since it's game night. His friends are relieved but upset. Matias tries to convince Amaya to come over. She is still upset, thinking that he's not making an effort to learn ASL for her. Matias admits that he got scared when the instructor said how difficult dating a deaf person could be, but he truly wants it to work for them. Amaya decides to meet with Matias, with Charon following her.

To ensure Charon complies, Matias transfers all the crypto-currency in Charon's account into his own. Charon angrily chides Matias for this but Matias says he'll get the money and laptop back on the promise that Amaya is safe and Erica is returned. He then receives messages from The Circle, a group of hackers all using variations of Charon as their handles. They seem to know about Matias taking the money, and Charon reveals his face.

Multiple accounts with the name Charon join the video chat. They post a video of someone pushing Lexx off her building's roof, where she was taking a call. The Circle reveals they've edited videos of AJ to make it sound like he will shoot up a shopping mall and played it for a 911 operator. The cops enter his house and the Circle hacks his computer to play a sound effect of a shotgun being loaded. This results in the cops believing he is armed and shooting him. The Circle then shows camera footage of Nari at the subway and Serena's mother on life support. They force Serena to choose between the two but she can't. When the countdown ends, the Circle pulls her mom off life support, pushes Nari in front of a train, and kills Serena in her house.

Matias leaves to get Amaya on his bike, leaving the laptop open so Damon can copy its files. He talks to the Circle, saying he's been recording everything for the police to find. A Charon brings Erica into Matias's closet. Damon explains that the Circle had planned all along for Matias to find the bait laptop so it looks like he and his friends committed the crimes, so the Circle can further avoid detection from the law. Moments later, a Charon hangs Damon by his closet door. Another Charon writes a fake confession and suicide note, implying everyone killed themselves out of guilt.

Matias gets a call from Amaya asking where he is. He realizes the Circle had hacked his messages to make Amaya go somewhere else. He watches the camera feed helplessly as Amaya gets attacked by a Charon, presumably to torture or kill her for another video. Broken, he asks the Circle why they did all of this, and they repeat a clip of him earlier saying "After all, it is game night", revealing that this is simply entertainment for them.

The Circle members launch a poll to decide Matias's fate. Erica wakes up in Matias's apartment and goes to the computer, begging for help, but the video cuts off. In the street, Matias is run over by a Charon in a large van. Their job done and their crimes pinned on Matias and his friends, the members of the Circle take off their masks, smiling, as it is revealed that the audience's point of view was actually from a Charon's computer.

Alternate ending (Buried Alive)

In the second ending, Matias texts Amaya to meet him in the spot where they shared a kiss. He arrives at the site and finds a hole in the ground with an open casket, before a Charon knocks him out.

Amaya arrives and calls Matias and his ringing phone wakes him up. He realizes that he has been buried alive and tries to text Amaya about his predicament but the Circle changes all of his messages. When he attempts to video chat, the Circle pixelates his mouth so Amaya cannot read his lips. Amaya gets mad and hangs up, leaving Matias to die as he runs out of air.

Cast

Production

In April 2015, it was announced that Universal Pictures had greenlit a sequel, tentatively titled Unfriended 2 with Nelson Greaves writing the script and Jason Blum and Timur Bekmambetov producing it, with setting a release date of spring-2016.[4][5]

On October 3, 2017, it was revealed that The Grudge and Texas Chainsaw 3D writer Stephen Susco had taken over the project as writer and director. Susco shot the film in secret over one week in late 2016, under the working title Unfriended: Game Night.[6][7]

In March 2018, Blumhouse officially revealed the film as Unfriended: Dark Web at SXSW 2018, under the distribution of Universal's OTL Releasing and Blumhouse's BH Tilt.[8]

Release

Unfriended: Dark Web was released in the United States on July 20, 2018.[2] It had a surprise premiere at South by Southwest in March 2018,[9][10] and then in April 2018 was screened at the Overlook Film Festival with an entirely different ending.[11] It was then revealed in July 2018 that the film would be sent to theaters with the two different endings, which would be played at random, similar to 1985's Clue.[12]

However, the director has stated that there is only one ending, and that the rumor came from re-editing the film after various test screenings.[13] Still, multiple movie theatre projectionists have confirmed that they were given two copies of the film, each with a different ending, and were told to wait until further instruction on which version to play at their specific location.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Unfriended: Dark Web was released alongside Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and The Equalizer 2, and was initially projected to gross $6–8 million from 1,543 theaters in its opening weekend.[14] However after making just $1.4 million on its first day, including $350,000 from Thursday night previews, estimates were lowered to $3 million. It went on to debut to $3.5 million, finishing ninth at the box office.[15] By the end of its theatrical run the film grossed $9.6 million worldwide, including $8.8 million domestically, less than the $15 million the first film made in its opening weekend alone.[2]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 91 reviews, and an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Unfriended: Dark Web is more interested in chills than an exploration of its timely themes, but horror fans should still find this sequel to be steadily, undeniably effective."[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a "low" 59% overall positive score.[15]

In a positive review in Vanity Fair, K. Austin Collins wrote that the movie "couldn’t seem more topical or relevant", and that it "leaves discerning viewers as entertained and skeptical as they are shaken."[18] Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent wrote that Unfriended: Dark Web "may be an exploitation movie but it’s an ingeniously made one with a highly original storytelling style which reflects perfectly the screen-dominated lives and leisure habits of its young protagonists."[19]

In a negative review for RogerEbert.com, Nick Allen wrote "Curiosity killed the dumb horror character, as we know from cinematic death-traps structured just like this one, but Unfriended: Dark Web stretches this conceit until it snaps, which happens about 15 minutes in" and added, "good poutine gravy, are these characters dumb, and the movie even more so."[20]

References

  1. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (July 19, 2018). "Box-Office Preview: 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' to Out-Muscle Fellow Sequels 'Equalizer,' 'Unfriended'". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Unfriended: Dark Web (2018)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  3. ↑ Squires, John (February 7, 2018). "Blumhouse Bringing Secret 'Unfriended' Sequel to SXSW?". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ Miska, Brad (April 27, 2015). "Universal Getting Unfriended Once Again (Exclusive)". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  5. ↑ Garofalo, Alex (April 28, 2015). "Unfriended 2 In The Works; Why The Horror Sequel Got The Green Light [VIDEO]". International Business Times. Newsweek Media Group. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  6. ↑ Thurman, Trace (March 10, 2018). "[SXSW Review] Unfriended: Dark Web Shows Just How Scary the Internet Can Be". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  7. ↑ Miska, Brad (October 5, 2017). "First Details on Unfriended: Game Night [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  8. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 9, 2018). "Blumhouse Reveals Untitled Movie At SXSW Is Unfriended: Dark Web". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  9. ↑ Mac, Domino (March 11, 2018). "Blumhouse Surprises SXSW Audiences With Secret UNFRIENDED Sequel". Nightmare on Film Street. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  10. ↑ Barkan, Jonathan (February 7, 2018). "SXSW 2018: Midnighters Reveal Hereditary, Field Guide to Evil, an Untitled Blumhouse Film + More!". Dread Central. Dread Central Media. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  11. ↑ Elizabeth, Kimbereley (April 26, 2018). "[Overlook Review] UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB Knows How to Use a Laptop Better Than I Do". Nightmare on Film Street. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  12. ↑ Millican, Josh (July 17, 2018). "Unfriended: Dark Web Has 2 Different Endings". MovieWeb. Watchr Media. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  13. ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (July 24, 2018). "Unfriended: Dark Web director calls the alternate endings story 'probably fake news,' dishes on reshoots". Syfy Wire. Syfy. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  14. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (July 18, 2018). "Box Office: 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' Dancing Past 'Equalizer 2' to $30 Million-Plus Opening". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  15. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 22, 2018). "Shocker: 'Mamma Mia 2' Meets B.O. Waterloo As 'Equalizer 2' Is The No. 1 Winner That Takes It All With $35M+". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Unfriended: Dark Web (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Unfriended: Dark Web Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  18. ↑ Collins, K. Austin (July 19, 2018). "'Unfriended: Dark Web' Weaponizes Our Fear of the Internet". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  19. ↑ Macnab, Geoffrey (August 9, 2018). "Unfriended: Dark Web review: Voyeuristic, nasty but very clever fare". The Independent. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  20. ↑ Allen, Nick (July 15, 2018). "Fantasia 2018: Unfriended: Dark Web, Tales from the Hood 2, The Night Eats the World". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
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