Unfriended: Dark Web Weaponizes Our Fear of the Internet

Youve really got to admire a cast of young actors who willingly sign up to be filmed in excruciating close-up, with criminally unflattering computer-screen lighting, for the length of an entire movie—all for the sake of art.

Thats heroism. And its the task set before the cast of Unfriended: Dark Web, the box-office-dominant Blumhouses chilling, brutally satisfying follow-up to the 2014 surprise hit Unfriended. That first movie was about a group of high-school students getting haunted, taunted, and murdered by the ghost of a classmate whod committed suicide a year earlier, all of it an act of divine comeuppance: that dead classmate was, it turned out, a victim of bullying.

But that doesnt explain the movies notoriety. In Unfriended, as in the new sequel, there was a twist: the entire thing took place on a computer screen. This was a story told through Facebook chat bubbles, Spotify, Skype chatter, and all manner of desktop clutter. Then, as now, it was a clever, deceptively simple gimmick. Youd think a computer screen could only show you so much—but the Unfriended movies make lingering cursors, delayed chat replies, and brief glimpses of someones browser history feel like insights into their character. They remind you of just how much we reveal of ourselves online—how these digital interfaces become extensions of ourselves.

Perhaps best of all, it makes for a juicy horror-movie trick: movies like this, with their dependency on video chats in particular, are automatically predicated on “Its behind you!”-type scares—of which both Unfriended films take ample advantage. Just look at all that negative space. When all you can see of a character is what can fit in a Skype window, no one is safe; everyone seems vulnerable to what might be lurking in the background. These movies make you pay attention.

Dark Web director Stephen Susco, making his filmmaking debut here (after writing thrillers like The Grudge and The Grudge 2), knows better than to mess with a good formula. Instead, he finds ways to amp up the terror—namely, by abandoning the first movies supernatural spin and reminding us of the horrors lurking in the real world, on the real Internet. Per its title, Dark Web treats us to a frightening tour of the notoriously risky dark Web, a subset of the deep Web (the part of the Internet thats not indexed by search engines) thats got a reputation for criminal activity—illegal pornography, terrorism, and the drug-trafficking operation Silk Road, among other things.

This being a horror movie, you can probably see where Im going with this. Or can you? The pleasure and terror of Dark Web is, as it turns out, its unpredictability. Things get off to a wicked start when a barista named Matias (Colin Woodell) steals a laptop from his coffee shops lost and found; the movie opens with him guessing the computers password. Matias is dating a deaf woman, Amaya (Stephanie Nogueras), whos been frustrated by their difficulties communicating—so Matias, who has a shitty laptop himself, steals the unclaimed computer for the sake of developing Papaya, a program that translates his texts to Amaya into video-recorded sign language, word by word.

Cute idea—until it isnt. What Matias doesnt know—what he doesnt find out until, deep into a six-way game night with friends via Skype, the computer keeps crashing and the previous users Facebook account gets flooded by mysteriously naughty messages—is that the computer he lifted is filled with almost an entire terabyte of video footage. Most of it has been hacked from unsuspecting strangers who dont realize their computer cameras have silently been activated, and that theyre being recorded. But then theres the other stuff—the bad stuff befitting a horror movie—women being tortured, spied on; women in chains.

What follows is a rip-roaring tour of some of the darkest corners of the Internet. Matiass friends—Damon (Andrew Lees), video-ing in from overseas; AJ (Connor Del Rio), a cornball with a conspiracist YouTube channel; Lexx (Savira Windyani), a D.J.; and Serena (Rebecca Rittenhouse) and Nari (Get Outs Betty Gabriel), an engaged queer couple—dont immediately realize it, but they, too, have been drawn into a nasty game involving kidnapping, murder, snuff footage, and millions of dollars in bitcoin, all of it transacted online, through Matiass stolen computer. That is, until it bleeds into real life.

Whats curious about Dark Web is just how much it manages to squeeze into one movie—most of which, for the sake of avoiding spoilers, I wont reveal. Suffice to say, this is a movie that seems, always, to be juggling a million things at once: an impending breakup between Matias and Amaya, sad undertones in the groups friend dynamic, the mystery of that snuff footage and its real-life implications. Then, theres the fact of Matiass ongoing battle with the owner of that stolen computer—who of course has plans to get it back, and who of course isnt operating alone.

Its as if Dark Webs actual goal is to remind us how much of our time online is spent multi-tasking and compartmentalizing. Thats the movies singular genius, and the source of all of its scares: multi-tasking, and Matiass constant back-and-forths between all of the movies other characters—via chats, Google searches, trips into the dark Web, bitcoin transactions, Skype arguments, FaceTiming, and threatening messages from the owner of the computer—make every plot point collide. The movie doesnt neatly lurch forward; its all right there, simultaneously spinning out of control on Matiass computer screen.

Silly? Yes. Thank God. That Dark Web manages to have a sense of humor about itself is icing on the cake, and welcome relief from its terror. Blumhouse isnt afraid to play things a little gimmicky—evident in even the fact that Dark Web is apparently being distributed with two different endings, meaning half of us may very well walk away with a different sense of what really happened. On top of that, the movie is sometimes beset with the usual unsatisfying genre stuff—for example, a character whose sole job is to explain the Internet to everyone else: Mr. Infodumper. Some audiences will bristle at this necessary corniness.

But Dark Web works as a dumb, thrilling horror movie, filled with the usual buffet of twentysomething archetypes, movie-hero hubris, cringeworthy romance, and a villain whose mysterious ability to make Facebook messages disappear feels suspiciously convenient.

So be it. As the movies scope gradually widens, the horrible conspiracy at its center grows so vast that it swallows all the characters up, and leaves discerning viewers as entertained and skeptical as they are shaken. The Internet is a storehouse of dangerous, powerful secrets—and in an era rife with digital crimes and online mysteries that we barely have the cultural bandwidth to understand, Dark Web couldnt seem more topical or relevant, and it seems well aware of that fact. It doesnt strain for importance; it isnt at all trying to be a “movie we need right now.” Maybe thats a sign that thats exactly what it is.

Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Because nothing says horror like a 1920 German Expressionist film. This classic about a murderous hypnotist is inspiring now for its groundbreaking cinematography and sheer artfulness, more of a gorgeous film noir than a real horror story.Photo: From Everett Collection.

Dracula

The original cinematic adaptation of Bram Stokers novel is a must-see for film fans. Its the mother of all vampire movies, featuring an indelible performance by Bela Lugosi and some really lush cinematography. (This scene alone of Draculas wives awakening is a thing of pure beauty.) Plus, its from the 1930s—theres no way itll scare you.Photo: From Everett Collection.

Psycho

Ah, yet another classic that all film fans should have in their back pocket. The seminal Alfred Hitchcock thriller shocked audiences in 1960 with its jarring shower scene and ultimate plot twist, but it wont horrify modern viewers the same way. Hitchcock was more about suspense than jump scares, even if Pyscho still gives you a healthy bout of chills.Photo: From Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock.

Carrie

Speaking of old movies that arent scary-scary by modern standards, Brian De Palmas adaptation of this Stephen King novel about a bullied high-school girl with a zealous mother is yet another standard-bearer that scared people at the time of its release. Now its got a sort of hokey 70s aesthetic that wont spook viewers more accustomed to sophisticated special effects.Photo: From United Artists/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock.

Paranorman

This stop-motion kids comedy is a joyful story about a boy who sees dead people. (For the scary version, go stream The Sixth Sense.) Its more of a delightful coming-of-age tale with genuine laughs, and some spooky animated creatures for good measure.Photo: From Focus Features/Everett Collection.

What We Do in the Shadows

Much like Shaun, this 2014 mockumentary flips a genre on its head, poking fun at the wild and sexy lore of vampires. Written and directed by New Zealands finest, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, who also star, the film is about a trio of vampires just living everyday life—splitting house chores, trying to get invited into nightclubs—which takes a turn when they have to take in a new 20-year-old vampire.Photo: From Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.

Get Out

Make no mistake: Jordan Peeles excellent debut feature is a horror movie through and through, with highly unsettling twists and turns. But the horror doesnt rely on twisted jump scares or unsightly violence; instead, its baked into the films brilliant social commentary on modern racism. And if thats not enough, take it from another wimp—this is a horror hit you can candle.Photo: From Universal/Everett Collection.PreviousNext