Unfriended: Dark Web is the thematic follow-up to the original Unfriended from 2014, a unique film known as being one of the first to adopt the approach of having the entire film take place on a computer screen, as if it were happening in real time.
Most cite The Den as the actual first, which pre-dates Unfriended by a year, but there was a similar segment in the anthology film V/H/S before that, and Wikipedia cites a film called The Colingswood Story as pre-dating both of those, going all the way back to 2002. (I haven't seen that one, for the record.)
Whatever the case, Unfriended was certainly the first bona-fide hit of the found footage-style offshoot, grossing some $64 million on a measly $1 million budget. As such, a sequel was perhaps inevitable, but the harder-to-pull-off than you might think original was a tricky achievement, and ultimately, the original filmmakers, save producer Timur Bekmambetov, balked at doing another one.
Initially, the original's writer, Nelson Greaves, came up with a direct follow-up to his film, in which Laura Barns, the "ghost in the machine," terrorized a new group of teens that were also involved in the events leading up to her death, but it was decided early on that having a whole new group of people involved in the same incident was a bit much, and somewhat hard to believe.
Greaves ultimately bailed on the project. Enter writer/director Stephen Susco (The Grudge 1 & 2), who agreed to do it, if he had creative control over the story-line, to a certain degree. Retaining only Greaves' idea about the story revolving around a group of college-age young people meeting up online for "game night" when the horror ensues from there, Susco opted to go in a completely different direction from there, eschewing the supernatural bent of the first film in favor of something more grounded in reality- truth being stranger than fiction and all that.
As such, there is no connection to the first film whatsoever, beyond the overall approach of everything transpiring on a computer screen. (Although, eagle eyed viewers might spot a nod to Laura Barns' user-name, billie227, in a key scene.)
Instead, the action revolves around Matias (Colin Woodell, TV's The Originals and The Purge), who ostensibly buys a used laptop on Craig's List, which we see him setting up his various online accounts on at the beginning of the film. Matias is working on an online program which will make it easier for him to communicate with his deaf girlfriend, and perhaps help turn him into a successful internet entrepreneur in the process.
After a certain point, he meets up via Skype with several of his friends from college online for their ongoing Game Night festivities. Unfortunately, the computer keeps crashing, frustrating his efforts to multitask while playing. Eventually, we get a clue as to why that might be: a persistent user that keeps trying to message him.
The user initially seems to be a girl named Erica, but later reveals herself to be another girl named Norah, whose laptop it actually is- it turns out that, contrary to his claims, Matias actually stole the laptop from the lost and found at a local internet cafe. Berating him for stealing it, she tells him to simply drop it off where he found it and all will be forgiven.
Then, just as he begrudgingly agrees to do so, he gets another message from someone alluding to money sent for a video. With the help of a more tech-savvy friend, Matias pokes around the computer and finds some files, with seemingly random videos of people in them.
His friend, AJ (Connor Del Rio, Level Up) asks him to click on another file entitled "The River" and it proves to be a connection to the infamous "Dark Web" of online lore, where just about anything can be purchased- for the right price. This is where the new user wants to talk to him privately.
Though his friends, who are all watching this transpire, are hesitant, Matias investigates further, where they discover that the mysterious user, who goes by the name of Charon 68, is paying the laptop owner to do some extremely iffy stuff, including what seems to be kidnapping someone and potentially torturing them.
AJ has Matias look around the computer further, opening some hidden files, where they discover much more disturbing videos of women being terrorized by an unseen person. More digging reveals that seemingly all the women have been abducted and are still missing.
Suddenly, Matias' girlfriend, Amaya (Stephanie Nogueras, Switched at Birth) calls him, but when he answers, it isn't her- it's "Norah," who turns out to actually be a hooded man with his face obscured.
It turns out he was able to observe Matias' actions remotely and track down his girlfriend's apartment, and is now there. He tells Matias to either deliver the laptop or he'll kill her, and as proof he means business, he grabs and knocks out her arriving roommate.
Meanwhile, the other user is growing agitated, thinking that something is awry. To placate him, Matias accepts the money transfer, then turns the table on the "Norah" impostor, transferring the money into his own account and telling him if he hurts Amaya, he'll never get his money.
This actually has the opposite intended effect on the man, who immediately freaks out and tells him he doesn't know who he's messing with- and he doesn't mean himself. Things go from there, getting ever more intense, as the group of friends try to figure out what to do next, with Matias at one point trying to convince them it's all an elaborate joke- an online game he's testing.
But will they buy it? And if they don't, and try and contact the authorities, what will the people connected to the laptop do in retaliation if they find out?
I won't spoil anymore except to say that, to what should be no one's shock, things do get worse and much more intense, as an inevitable showdown happens between all concerned. Perhaps needless to say, there are plenty more twists where that came from as well, some of them more surprising than others.
The end result is more of a thriller than the original Unfriended, but arguably a better film overall. For one thing, the characters are much more likable than the ones in the original, who, lest we forget, were all guilty of all sorts of stuff, including bullying- and worse.
As such, this film is less scary than intense, but it gets pretty damn intense, especially towards the end, as we realize just how insidious everything that's going on really is. The results remind me of another movie I reviewed not too long ago, Kristy, as well as the aforementioned The Den and the second season of Mr. Robot.
Given some of the implied subject matter, it's no wonder that the MPAA gave this an "R" rating on general principle, citing an overall unpleasantness that couldn't really be edited out, per se.
The film isn't particularly gory, mind you, just actively intense and hard to take at times. Whether or not you find it actually scary will likely depend on your own given sensibilities. I just found it more disturbing than horrific.
One thing the film does share with its predecessor beyond the approach is that several different endings were shot for the film, which are included on the DVD and Blu-Ray. Which one you prefer may also depend on your own sensibilities, and if you prefer your endings dark or more hopeful.
One is arguably even darker than the one in the film itself, which is pretty damn bleak as it is, and another is more open-ended- probably a little too much so- which is probably why it wasn't used.
Yet another ends on a more humane note, which, if you find yourself attached to the characters at hand, may be the one for you. But I found the original ending to be gratifying dark, so I thought they made the right choice overall. It's just right, IMHO, but your opinion may vary.
There's no doubt about it- this sort of thing can be a tough sell for some. After all, the approach is inherently claustrophobic, and if you don't have a decent-sized TV, or make the choice to watch it on your own laptop/PC (which actually makes the most sense, TBH), some of it may be tough to follow, what with all the multitasking going on on Matias' end and the oft tiny word size or hard-to-see font used at times.
Still, the clear audience for this is obviously fellow internet users, who often do multitask a bunch of different things at once- I'm doing just that as I write this article, in fact- so, as such, I can't imagine any of them having any trouble keeping up. Those of you who are less internet savvy might want to give this one a wide berth.
As before, the cast is effective, only this time way more relatable and likable. While it's true that the main protagonist does steal a laptop, that's hardly a reason for him to be put through the wringer like he is here, and it should be taken into consideration (as it is in one of the alternate endings) that Matias does try and do the right thing, even though it would have been easier for him to bail on the entire situation early on.
As such, this one is inherently better than the original in that you actually are rooting for him to defeat the baddies in the end, instead of wondering if all concerned don't deserve to die the more you discover about the real nature of their character, like in the original.
Here, everyone concerned seem to be good people, trying to do the right thing in a truly difficult situation. Given that, it's a hell of a lot easier to put yourself in their shoes and ask what you would do in a similar scenario.
Would you try to help those in danger? Or would you try to extricate yourself out of the situation by any means necessary, even if it meant throwing a fellow human being under the bus in the process? Given what happens to some of the people involved, it's a fascinating question, because a lot of it ain't pretty.
All in all, if this sounds like something you'd dig, you probably will. If it sounds more like a headache waiting to happen- not to mention a lot of squinting for those with bad eyesight- then you might want to take a pass instead. But I will say it was a marked improvement over the original, so even if you didn't like that one, you might like this one, in spite of it.
Check it out- and whatever you do, stay off that damned Dark Web if you know what's good for you! 😱
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