‘Friend Request’ is a cyber horror film that is constantly compared to 2014’s Unfriended. While both films share similar themes in terms of cyber bullying and the inability for the youth of today to ‘log off’, they are in fact quite different films.
The plot centres around a college student named Laura, she is pretty, popular and has a bright future ahead of her. Like most students her age she is fully committed to all things social media. Laura’s world is turned upside down when she fails to invite quiet loner Marina to her birthday party. After the troubled girl lashes out Laura unfriends her on Facebook and this pushes Marina to the edge.
Unable to take the rejection and the shame of returning to zero friends on Facebook, Marina decides to take her own life. It is this event that triggers are series of bizarre suicides all across the college campus. Laura and her friends begin to suspect Marina had dark secrets that could ultimately lead to their demise.
‘Friend Request’ is a difficult film to pin down, part horror, part social commentary it is constantly weaving from one style to another. Jump scares are abundant here and come thick and fast, yet there is depth and the audience is challenged where you least expect it. The film encapsulates the youth of today perfectly and has a lot to say about the pit falls and potential danger of social media addiction.
The characters are fairly typical but it is the character of Laura who grabs your attention. She is truly engrossed in documenting every aspect of her life and posting it on the internet. Her addiction and the addictions of her friends are their biggest weakness. The protagonist Marina exploit this to lethal ends. The audience may constantly ask themselves ‘why don’t they just turn off their phones!?’. That is exactly the point, even when their lives are in danger the characters are unable to remove themselves from the digital world and the hold it has over them. ‘Friend Request’ got this message across loud and clear without having to explain the obvious or hold the audience’s hand.
Scares are frequent and often here, some of them you may see coming, others will catch you off guard. Many people regard jump scares as a cheap and lazy, but there were prolonged scenes off tension here often with a rewarding fright.
The main flaw with this film is unfortunately its second half. It almost abandons the social media angle in favour of a witch hunt style theme. This split the film down the middle and made for an uneven tone. This was a real shame because the most terrifying aspect was seeing the characters unable to disconnect and trying to gauge who was going to be slaughtered next. Once that hook was abandoned it sadly just felt like many other films in its genre.
The Verdict
‘Friend Request’ is an interesting, tense but also flawed cyber horror film. It offers a shock a minute and moves at nail bitingly steadily pace before showcasing the plot’s big reveal. It is unfortunate that the film is let down by an inconsistent tone which breaks immersion some what and lessens the scare factor during the second half.
3/5
‘Friend Request’ stars: Alycia Debnam-Carey, William Moseley, Liesl Ahlers
The Boogeyman | Official Trailer | 20th Century Studios
The Boogeyman is an upcoming American supernatural horror film directed by Rob Savage from a screenplay by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods and Mark Heyman, based on the 1973 short story of the same name by Stephen King.
Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher, David Distmalchian
Plot Summary:
The Boogeyman is an upcoming American supernatural horror film directed by Rob Savage from a screenplay by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods and Mark Heyman, based on the 1973 short story of the same name by Stephen King.
Horror has been one of the most profitable genres in recent years due to its low cost to produce scary pics while constantly drawing in audiences. Pair that theory with a fresh star like one from HBO’s House of the Dragon and you might have a hit on your hands. That’s exactly what director Nicolas Pesce (The Grudge, Eyes of My Mother) aims to do with his latest horror film as Deadline is reporting that Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon, Ready Player One) will lead Visitation.
Visitation will follow a 14-year-old girl named Maria who is sent away to live with nuns while her mother is dying of an illness, however, her stay at the monastery quickly takes an eerie turn as one of her caretakers starts to be enamored with her for all the wrong reasons. Cooke is set to play a nun who is central to the story, but further character details are under wraps for now. Cooke will be joined in the film by other cast members Isla Johnston, Alfie Allen, Penelope Wilton and Stephen Rea.
Cooke is best known for her role as Alicent Hightower in the new hit HBO fantasy/drama House of the Dragon. She has also appeared in supporting roles for indies such as Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Sound of Metal as well as supporting roles in blockbusters such as Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. Cooke will next appear in the thriller, Mother’s Milk alongside Hilary Swank and Jack Reynor. Alfie Allen is also no stranger to the Game of Thrones universe as he starred as Theon Greyjoy in the HBO series. He most recently appeared in the MGM+ show SAS Rogue Heroes. While Johnston played the younger version of Beth Harmon in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit and Rea most recently appeared alongside Emily Blunt in the Amazon series, The English but is best known for his Oscar-nominated role in 1992’s The Crying Game.
Visitor Rating: 2 Stars