Unfriended: Dark Web (2018)

 

**This post contains spoilers, including thoughts on all three alternate endings**

The Story- Matias (Colin Woodell) receives strange messages on Facebook from a user named Norah. C and others, after he steals a laptop from the lost and found bin at his job. During a Skype group video chat with his friends, AJ (Connor Del Rio), Damon (Andrew Lees), Lexx (Savira Windyani), Nari (Betty Gabriel), and Serena (Rebecca Rittenhouse), Norah becomes more persistent, flooding his messages with demands to return the laptop. 

Eventually, Norah. C reveals himself as Charon IV. Charon IV is a member of The Circle, an insidious and secretive group that records and sells videos, where girls are tortured and murdered. Game night is interrupted between Matias and the others, as Matias struggles to figure out a plan to outsmart The Circle. But things take a dark turn, when Charon IV threatens to kill Matias’ deaf girlfriend, Amaya (Stephanie Nogueras), if he doesn’t return the laptop.

Matias takes a bold risk to ensure Amaya’s safety, but another problem emerges, when Matias learns about the disappearance of Erica Dunne (Alexa Mansour), a young girl kidnapped by The Circle. Can Matias save Amaya and Erica before it’s too late? 

My Thoughts- “You’re all terrible people.” Those were Laura Barns’ words for Blaire and the others in the original Unfriended. The selfishness, the lies, and all the backstabbing. Things quickly descended into a race to see who could save their own asses in Unfriended 2014, when the group finally realized Laura was deadly serious about seeking revenge.

Teamwork, tight friendship bonds, and loyalty are big differences in the sequel. Matias is caught lying TWICE, but the group still sticks together to hopefully find a solution to save everyone, including Erica Dunne. Sure, AJ freaks out and panics, but overall, the group stays on the same page to try and help Matias and Amaya, while making a strong effort to watch each other’s backs.

Likable characters! Matias is actually a good guy, who made a stupid mistake. You can see he deeply cares about Amaya to the point, where he’s tirelessly working on an app for sign language to smoothly communicate with her. Nari and Serena are a loving couple, preparing for marriage, and Serena’s carrying around a heavy emotional weight, because her mother has cancer. As far as Amaya goes, she’s undeniably wholesome, so it’s easy to see why Matias is dedicated to their relationship.

Dark Web does a good job building sympathy for the main cast of characters. While it’s true everything could’ve been avoided, if Matias never stole the laptop, you really can’t make an argument for anyone deserving death here. Matias was ready to do the right thing and return the laptop. Matias’ friends, Amaya, and Erica are all innocent, so that’s why it stings more, when they’re all picked off by the Charons. 

The 2014 original showed how the internet and social media is unfortunately used as a vehicle for bullying and harassment. Dark Web takes a different approach with a creepy voyage into the vile shadows of the digital world. The snuff films are genuinely disturbing. Watching the Charons gleefully torture all the innocent girls is more than enough to make your skin crawl. On top of that, Charon I was way too comfortable casually discussing his preferred methods of torture for Erica Dunne.

There’s more realism with the eerie voyeurism connected to the security camera footage, access to random videos, and how Matias made things easy for The Circle to quickly gain full access to his life by simply entering his Wi-Fi password. Facebook, Skype, other forms of social media, and well, just using the internet in general? We live in a world, where it’s too easy for the wrong kinds of people to have nearly unrestricted access to our lives, fiendish human beings like the Charons with the worst intentions. That’s actually far more terrifying than Laura’s ghost and the supernatural elements in the original Unfriended.

Dark Web decides to go the simple and brutal route for killing off Matias and his friends. Whether it’s Nari being pushed into the subway train by a Charon, a Charon shoving Lexx off of the roof, or a speeding van hitting Matias, the deaths are brutal and effective for a reaction. If we’re talking about gore, there’s only one scene. Erica removing the cover to reveal a hole on her forehead, complete with running blood, and that horrified scream. Truly a nasty sight, and a shocker for the final moments of the movie. 

They used the countdown on Skype again here, but it’s only in one scene. The Circle forces Serena to choose between saving her mother’s life or Nari at the subway station. The countdown was exhausted in the original. Saving it for Serena’s big decision had a stronger less is more impact, because it’s an emotional and impossible choice to make, your mother over the love your life or vice versa, knowing one of them will certainly die. 

The Circle was smart to cover their tracks with AJ and Damon’s deaths. AJ was an unhinged conspiracy theorist, so you could believe there’s a chance he’d just snap one day, and decide to go down to the mall and “have some fun” with weapons to make a statement about corruption. Poor Damon was set up to make it look like he committed suicide by hanging himself, because he couldn’t live with the guilt of being a monster. 

The Circle was playing a game? That’s right. Everything was an elaborate hoax cooked up by The Circle. Charon IV was hoping someone would find the laptop, and Matias was the unlucky winner. It was all a set up, or “game night” for The Circle to use Matias and Damon as fall guys, including pinning Erica’s kidnapping on Matias.

A decent twist. They tightly covered any potential logical plot  holes, and Charon IV tricking Amaya with a different address to meet Matias was a good shocker. But there’s a big clue that something was off during the opening moments of the movie, when Matias is trying to login into the laptop. A question mark, right in front him, is also the password? Looking back, you could say everything was too convenient and easy, including someone “losing” a MACBOOK and letting it sit in a lost and found bin for too long.

Also, is there a chance Charon IV was bluffing about following Amaya to Matias’ house? The Circle is made up of smart and calculating guys, who are extremely careful about not making any mistakes. Charon IV never showed any proof that he was actually following Amaya during his video chat with Matias. 

Connecting the Charons to Greek mythology adds a spooky layer to Dark Web. In greek mythology, Charon carries souls across the rivers Acheron and Styx. The Charons communicate through The River on the dark web. A good tie-in, and another example that shows The Circle is full of some deeply disturbed people. 

They decided to use the screencast POV again. My thoughts on it didn’t really change, because it’s still kind of annoying keeping track of all the windows and screens Matias opens and closes, the messages popping up, and whatever he types or decides to delete. But you have to pay close attention to everything. Every move Matias or The Charons makes plays a crucial role for the next step. Dark Web also takes a while to shift out of first gear. I’m talking about a real slow start to this one, almost excruciatingly slow. 

Alternate endings! First up, Matias actually makes it to the warehouse, after Amaya gives him directions. The problem? Matias finds her purse and her phone, but Amaya is already gone. The Circle puts a poll to determine whether Matias will commit suicide or not, and the final shot shows Matias sobbing and holding a gun.

Matias actually lives in this ending, and it’s a good cliffhanger, because it’s easy to believe in the possibility of Matias taking his own life. His girlfriend and all of his friends are gone, and The Circle set him up to take the fall for Erica’s kidnapping and the other horrible crimes. That’s more than enough to crush anyone’s spirit and their will to live. 

In another alternate ending, Matias makes it to the park, but he’s buried alive by a Charon. Amaya arrives, but Matias’ attempts to contact her are thwarted by The Circle. The closing moments of this ending shows Matias begging for help, while an oblivious Amaya continues to wait for him. Some extra footage and slight changes reveals Damon witnessing Erica crawling out of the closet, not Matias. You’ll see everything leading up to Damon’s death here, and Amaya survives.

Truly a good ending that fits with the story. Matias, stuck in the coffin and hopelessly pleading (“I can’t breathe!”) for Amya’s help, is a chilling finale, especially knowing Amaya is literally standing right on top of Matias’ eventual grave.

There’s an ending, where Matias AND Amaya live? Yep. Matias manages to find Amaya at the park. The Charon’s emerge to restrain them before they have a chance to enjoy a happy moment. A poll goes up to determine if Matias and Amaya should live, and the final vote concludes with a yes! Amaya and Matias reunite. The closing shot shows Erica screaming into the camera, concluding with Charon I ending the stream and the game. 

Sorry, but this ending didn’t work for me. It completely craps on everything that happened throughout the movie. Members of The Circle voted for Amaya and Matias to live. The Charons are scumbags, but we’re also supposed to believe certain members of The Circle weirdly have a moral compass?And where’s the logic for letting Matias live? Yeah, they framed him, but he knows all of The Circle’s dark secrets. It’s an illogical decision for a tightly efficient group, that’s careful about tying up all the loose ends. 

A happy ending for Dark Web feels out of place. Maybe I would’ve bought into it more, if there was some kind of real struggle or a chase showing Matias and Amaya escaping The Charons. Or Matias coming up with another plan to outsmart The Circle, but they just let both of them go. No questions, no threats, or promises for consequences? Nope. It’s just too absurd. 

With all that said, Dark Web is still a clever sequel that outshines the original. A bleak and darker film, featuring a solid cast and a story that’s loaded with a raw sense of realism. 

Unfriended’s premise has so many possibilities, using the internet and social media as the foundation for different stories. That, and all of the main characters were killed off in the original. The only other option they could’ve possibly went with was using Laura Barns as some kind of boogeyman, who punished cyber bullies? The standalone route for a sequel with a fresh set of a characters, and a new story worked as the right choice.

A lot of haunting visuals throughout Dark Web, but watching a Charon capture Amaya really sticks out. She was completely innocent in all of this. Amaya wanted to make things right with Matias. She was tricked into going to the warehouse. She couldn’t hear the Charon walking towards her. Alone in that dark warehouse, while she obviously had no idea how or why everything happened. A cold ending for Amaya. 

Rating- 8/10

Truth Or Dare (2018)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- During a spring break trip to Mexico, Carter (Landon Liborion) lures Olivia (Lucy Hale) and her friends into playing a seemingly harmless game of truth or dare. Olivia, her best friend, Markie (Violett Beane), her boyfriend, Lucas (Tyler Posey), Tyson (Nolan Gerard Funk), his girlfriend, Penelope (Sophia Taylor Ali), Ronnie (Sam Lerner), and Brad (Hayden Szeto) all join in on the game. But things take a dark turn, when Carter reveals the sinister consequences for the game: all players must fully participate, and death is the penalty for lying, or anyone who refuses to follow through on their dares.

The group lures another player named Giselle (Aurora Perrineau) out of hiding in an attempt to find more answers. Giselle mistakenly reveals Carter’s real name, but Olivia and the others are forced to deal with a bigger problem, when Giselle reveals an unknown rule for the game.

My Thoughts- Lucy Hale and Violett Beane carry the weight for the more serious and emotional side of Truth Or Dare with a pair of solid performances. Sam Lerner, Nolan Gerard Funk, and Hayden Szteo balance things out with comedy. Tyson and Ronnie are both narcissists. The big difference is, Ronnie is more of a goofball and a fool. Tyson has the bigger and more fragile ego, as he continues to forge prescription slips, while he also masquerades as a legitimate doctor. 

Aurora Perrineau deserves a lot of credit for her performance. The poor hygiene and the dirty clothes were a nice touch, but Perrineau perfectly encapsulates how the game can destroy someone mentally and emotionally. Giselle is broken and desperate. There’s a lot of similarities to Carter’s motivations, because Giselle wants her freedom from the game, by any means necessary. 

Follow the rules, or you die. Humiliation and betrayal? Yes, it can hurt, but if you refuse to play, certain death is the ultimate penalty. That’s truly terrifying for something that’s supposed to be nothing more than a silly kid’s game. 

Truth Or Dare takes things a step further by using the main character’s traumas, issues, and secrets for the truths and dares in the game. An already drunk Penelope having to drink a bottle of vodka, while walking the edges of the roof, because she has a drinking problem. Brad being forced to tell his strict father, Officer  Han Chang (Tom Choi), the truth about his homosexuality. And Olivia carrying the burden of  telling Markie about how her father tried to force himself on her, before he committed suicide. To add to that, an angry Olivia told Markie’s father that his daughter would be better off, if he was dead.

Sure, some of the truths and dares are just harmless fun at first. Ronnie backing out of a dare to show his “business” at a bar is a good example. But things quickly escalate to truths and dares that have more serious consequences. Truth Or Dare does a good job of matching the severity of the truths and dares with the actual gameplay. If the participants do manage to successfully complete either one, everyone is scarred one way or another, after everything is done.

The friendship between Markie and Olivia is, well it’s complicated. Olivia has feelings for Lucas, but she lied to Markie (Lucas is like a big brother to me!) about it. Olivia finally exposed Markie’s infidelity after a dare, embarrassing Lucas in the library. And to make things more awkward, Olivia lied about being forced into choosing to have sex with Lucas for one of her dares. There’s also the problem with Olivia carrying around the guilt of hiding the truth about the events that led up to Markie’s father killing himself. 

The tension, the anger on both sides, and the feeling of being betrayed by Olivia on Markie’s side plays a big part in the story. But maybe it’s all just too much? The drama between Olivia and Markie is overwhelming. Their story could’ve had its own movie. Hale and Beane did a fantastic job of making everything believable, but the ups and downs in Markie and Olivia’s friendship disrupts the story’s momentum. 

Truth or dare. The High stakes. You play, or you die. This is serious business, but the weird faces coming from the people, who ask the participants to choose truth or dare? Oh, boy. I get it. The people asking the questions are obviously possessed, so their faces look like “messed up Snapchat filters,” but I’d say it’s worse than that. The wide, red eyes, and the stretched cheek to cheek smiles? It just looks too silly. You’re about to ask someone to participate in a game that’ll determine, whether they live or die, but it’s hard not to laugh, when you see the supposed evil faces.

The story from Inez (Vera Taylor) about the game’s origins and the demon Calux possessing the game adds that essential sinister and dark layer to Truth Or Dare. It’s a tragic story. Inez wanted to punish the disgusting priest, who terrorized her and her friends, but Calux killed everyone, leaving Inez as the sole survivor. How did Inez survive? She performed a ritual, which included cutting out her own tongue.

The ending? Calux tells Olivia there’s no way to escape the game after Sam/Carter’s death. But Olivia can temporarily delay her next turn and Markie’s turn in the game, if she can find more players. So Olivia uploads a video to You Tube, inviting millions of potential players to play Truth Or Dare. It’s a clever and logical ending, that could leave things open for a future film. Was Olivia’s decision selfish? Yes, there’s no denying that at all. But if you put yourself in Olivia’s place, it’s understandable how someone could make that decision, when you’re young and facing certain death.

Truth Or Dare features a good amount of grisly images. Ronnie breaking his neck on the pool table dare, a possessed Tyson ramming his own pen into his head, and Inez’s severed tongue are some good notable picks. And Giselle lighting the innocent woman on fire at the gas station really worked to set the tone for the rest of the movie. After that scene, you’ll know this version of truth or dare is not a fun and carefree game. 

There’s also a decent message about friendship involving Olivia and Markie. After everything they went through, Markie and Olivia’s bond was stronger in the end. After all the lies and keeping secrets from her, Olivia chose to make the hard decision to protect Markie. It’s a story about what happens, when friends are pushed to their limits for trust and betrayal, and how different people react, when you reach the point of no return for forgiveness. 

Truth Or Dare has the right ingredients, but it’s a horror film with some noticeable problems. Why would you follow a complete stranger (Carter/Sam) to an abandoned church in a different country? Trusting Carter is an irreversible mistake that has deadly ramifications throughout the movie. And Truth Or Dare’s biggest problem is, it’s just not scary at all. There’s the one decent scene with the homeless man (Andrew Howard) ambushing Olivia to pick truth or dare, but that’s about it. 

There’s also too many unintentionally funny moments, when things are supposed to be serious. Truth Or Dare has a solid cast, and a premise with a lot of potential. But it’s a movie that has one too many misfires, and it joins the already crowded pack of so-so mainstream PG-13 horror films.

Rating- 4/10