Director: Stephen Susco.
Starring: Colin Woodell, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Betty Gabriel, Andrew Lees, Stephanie Nogueras, Connor Del Rio, Savira Windyani.
Haven’t seen any promotion for this Blum House produced sequel of the 2015 Unfriended which I’ve just recently rewound reviewed. And I would have totally missed it if I wasn’t actively scanning the showing times of my ‘other’ local picture house. As written in my previous review, I enjoyed the first, maybe more than unexpectedly so, admiring it’s simplicity and freshness; so seeing this sequel being released I was instantly intrigued.
Stephen Susco, writer of films like Texas Chainsaw 3D and both The Grudge remakes; writes and directs this sequel; with it being his directorial debut, seemingly repeating the same film as the first where a group of friends have their web chat supposedly hacked and all face fatal consequences.
The only elements, when in comparison to the first that remain the same or similar is the format and style of the filming. That webcam perspective using the same social platforms as before. Again the only soundtrack is what you hear as background music played by the group and that looming hum returns. (I really like Pelaez’s music, so thanks for that!) And like the first, lacks any real big Hollywood names with some recognisable faces.
But, it’s an unrelated sequel having nothing else, apart what is mentioned above, to do with the first. It’s more of a shocking thriller as oppose to the sinister evil we witness the first time round, focusing on the hacker underworld and it’s niche cyber criminality. Sadly, as a result, this makes the story lose a lot of potency the first film had.
There is little to be afraid of and where the story tries to be clever, it becomes predictable. Some of the scenes can be disturbing but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before and you know it’s going to happen. The performances are acceptable at best, but nowhere near a decent standard and I’m struggling with concept that I found the first film more believable than this one.
Fans of the original might be very disappointed, if not certainly underwhelmed as I was waiting for the story to evolve and when there’s a big revelation revealed, it’s sadly went in the opposite direction. I might have received this better if it was a stand alone movie, but then if would just feel like a cheap, weak and unoriginal copy.
Running Time: 6
The Cast: 5
Performance: 6
Direction: 5
Story: 3
Script: 5
Creativity: 5
Soundtrack: 8
Job Description: 1
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
44% 4/10
