Movie Review: Unfriended

I went to go see Unfriended this past weekend, and I have to say that it was really interesting. I was very intrigued by the concept: the entire movie (except for like three seconds) is on a laptop screen. Just one laptop screen. A MacBook, actually. Set in real time (you can see the clock on the upper right hand corner of the screen), the story unfolds over Facebook, Skype, IM, YouTube, Chrome, Spotify-- all internet and social media-based forms of interaction that people (especially teenagers) use to communicate on a daily basis. 

Unfriended takes several overdone horror tropes: the vengeful ghost, the teen slasher where characters are killed off one by one, the sins of the past come back to haunt the characters, and found footage; and it presents these clichés in a new format. Even though you know people are going to die -- it's a horror movie, duh! -- there's still so much suspense in just seeing "..." on screen, so much suspense in wanting to find out just what will happen next. When a Skype video freezes and you can't see clearly what's going on, you just know something bad is going to happen. 

The movie makes good use of gore discretion shots, too. Even though people die in very bloody and violent ways, the webcam's cutting in and out reduces the amount of gore being seen, which makes it more terrifying than an in-your-face gross-out the way some horror movies *cough* Saw sequels *cough* rely on. 

The primary message of Unfriended is about cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is very real and very painful and dangerous. People hide behind the mask of anonymity the internet offers and say terrible things. I remember more than a year ago there was this post on Tumblr. I can't find it anymore, but it was a gif to promote awareness about how negative comments, online threats, and cyber bullying can lead people to commit suicide. The original post said to reblog to raise awardees on this issue, and added comments emphasized how important reblogging this message was. Then the comments degenerated to things along the lines of "Reblog this you piece of shit!" and "If u don't reblog this I'll fucking kill you!" thereby essentially becoming what the post warned against. Cyber bullying exists, and we need to be taking more of a stand against it. 

Additionally, I'd like to give a big shout out to actress Shelley Hennig. She's the one who plays Malia on Teen Wolf, and in Unfriended she does an excellent subversion of the Final Girl horror convention. As Blair (whose laptop we are viewing), she might pretend to be a pure, innocent, good little virgin, like the typical Final Girl, but the truth comes to light. It hit me a day later what the Facebook message "I GOT HER I GOT HER I GOT HER" that Blair receives was actually referring to, and ugh, that still gives me shivers. 😰

One final little detail that I loved: on Blair's browsing history and tabs we see pages on Teen Wolf. Awesome little Easter egg there. 

Have you seen Unfriended? What did you think of it? Do you think it'll be even better to stream on a laptop than it was in theaters? Let me know your opinion in the comments, or tweet me @ak_gossipghoul!

XOXO

Gossip Ghoul

Join Me Tonight For Moonday

In case you haven't noticed from my Twitter feed, a new episode of Teen Wolf is tonight, and I will be live-tweeting, although I may reach tweet limit before Wolf Watch, the aftershow. This week's Wolf Watch involves the twins, so I've got my fingers crossed there will be talk of upcoming Dethan plans.

On Sunday I will be live-tweeting Downton Abbey, and I have a strong suspicion Anna is going to become pregnant, so I'm dying to see if that development plays out.

Immediately following that episode is the US release of the new series of Sherlock. The much-anticipated, long-awaited new series. Obviously I will be live-tweeting that.

Please join me online for gushing and fangirling and general awesomeness.

All gifs from Tumblr.

XOXO
Gossip Ghoul.

Howl At The Moon

Back in May, my friend J and I decided that this summer we would watch a series together that neither of us have previously seen. We have similar tastes in books, movies, and shows (with  a few exceptions -- I will never like Anchorman, sorry), and viewing a few marathons together was a great way to bond before she left for her internship. After much debate, we selected Teen Wolf.
 

Picture belongs to MTV.

All I knew about Teen Wolf previously is that it involves werewolves (obviously) and that the big slash ship is Sterek. I didn't know it's MTV. I didn't know it's an adaptation of the cult Michael J. Fox film. I didn't know Scott is the main character. I didn't even know what Stiles and Derek look like. The only thing I really knew is that Sterek is the big rival ship for Destiel.

Now, I am a huge Destiel fan, and I desperately want the pairing to become official for Supernatural season nine. I just about melted into bittersweet sobs when Dean told Castiel, "I need you," while Castiel was struggling against mind control not to kill him. I am currently working on multiple -- that's right, multiple -- Destiel fan videos. Therefore, reading that Sterek is considered the Destiel of Teen Wolf instantly intrigued me.

 

 

 

 

Picture from Tumblr.

 J and I watched the first couple episodes, and immediately we were hooked. The show is incredible! It has intriguing storylines and brilliantly developed characters. Every single character is interesting and likeable,* even minor background and side characters. (Who else here wants to create a fan club for Greenberg? Our motto would be: Greenberg, We Love You Even Though Everybody Hates You And We Have No Idea What You Look Like.) Even the more villainous characters are loveable and sympathetic, especially snarky Peter, and who else here cried for Deucalion at the end of Visionary? Speaking of crying, I do cry a lot during Teen Wolf, especially this current season. Season one was great; season two was even better; and season three is amazing, with each episode being more intensive than the last. After this past episode, I'm dying for this coming Moonday. Is Jennifer actually Paige? I must know!

Picture belongs to MTV.

Now I have another reason to smile at the full moon.

XOXO
Gossip Ghoul.

* Except for Jennifer. She's not very likeable, but she's still very interesting. Though truth be told, we just hate her for manipulating Derek and keeping him from Stiles.