Universal acquired their next big horror outing, Unfriended (previously called Cybernatural) after watching a test audience go bananas during a screening. There’s absolutely no better judge of a film’s quality than a public who haven’t paid to see it, and based off the first trailer, which was released today, those terrified moviegoers could have been onto something.
Storywise, the film picks up one year after the death of teenager Laura Barns, who killed herself after a mortifying video of her wound up going viral online. As you may have guessed, the anniversary of her death provokes a return to the web for her angsty spirit as she takes her revenge on her bullies. Via Skype. Yes, it makes no bones about the fact it panders those who probably don’t recall the pre-Internet days.
Developed by Wanted helmer Timur Bekmambetov, Unfriended was written and directed by newcomer Levin Gabriadze and produced by Bekmambetov and Jason Blum. The latter name should be familiar to anyone with a passing interest in the state of modern horror. Blum’s credentials outside of his own directorial efforts are used as major marketing clout for movies he’s scarcely involved with. Nevertheless, his Blumhouse Productions label collaborated on the flick, so its genesis must bear some decent scares, right?
Unfriended arrives in theaters on April 17th. Check out the trailer above and let us know what you think.
Ushering in a new era of horror, Universal Pictures’ Unfriended unfolds over a teenager’s computer screen as she and her friends are stalked by an unseen figure who seeks vengeance for a shaming video that led a vicious bully to kill herself a year earlier.
After Universal executives saw a test screening of Unfriended terrify a test audience, the studio acquired the thriller that was developed and conceived by visionary filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). Directed by Levan Gabriadze, Unfriended is written by Levan Gabriadze and produced by Bekmambetov and Greaves, as well as Jason Blum for Blumhouse Productions (Ouija and Paranormal Activity, The Purge and Insidious series).
