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| ⚫ | {{Redirect-distinguish|Unfriend (2016 film)|Unfriended}} | ||
| ⚫ | {{Use dmy dates|date= |
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| {{EngvarB|date=November 2019}} | |||
| ⚫ | {{distinguish|Unfriended}} | ||
| ⚫ | {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} | ||
| {{Infobox film | {{Infobox film | ||
| | name = Friend Request | | name = Friend Request | ||
| | image = Friend Request Poster.jpg | | image = Friend Request Poster.jpg | ||
| | caption = |
| caption = US theatrical release poster | ||
| | director = ] | | director = ] | ||
| | producer = {{plainlist| | | producer = {{plainlist| | ||
| Line 12: | Line 13: | ||
| | writer = {{plainlist| | | writer = {{plainlist| | ||
| * Matthew Ballen | * Matthew Ballen | ||
| * Philip Koch | * {{ill|Philip Koch (director)|de|3=Philip Koch|lt=Philip Koch}} | ||
| * Simon Verhoeven | * Simon Verhoeven | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| Line 20: | Line 21: | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| ⚫ | * ] | ||
| * Brooke Markham | |||
| * ] | |||
| ⚫ | * Liesl Ahlers | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| | music = {{Plainlist| | | music = {{Plainlist| | ||
| * |
* ] | ||
| * Martin Todsharow | * ] | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| | cinematography = Jo Heim | | cinematography = Jo Heim | ||
| Line 33: | Line 32: | ||
| * Denis Bachter | * Denis Bachter | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| ⚫ | | production_companies = {{plainlist| | ||
| ⚫ | | distributor = ] | ||
| * ] | |||
| ⚫ | | released = {{ |
||
| ⚫ | | runtime = 92 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 92:09--><ref>{{cite web | url= |
||
| ⚫ | | country =Germany | ||
| ⚫ | | language = English | ||
| ⚫ | | budget = $9.9 |
||
| | gross = $9.7 million<ref name="NUM">{{cite web |url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Friend-Request#tab=summary |title=Friend Request (2016) | website=The Numbers | accessdate=13 October 2016}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | | |
||
| * Wiedemann & Berg Film | |||
| * SevenPictures Film | * SevenPictures Film | ||
| * Two Oceans Productions | * Two Oceans Productions | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| ⚫ | | distributor = ] | ||
| ⚫ | | released = {{film date|2016|1|7|Germany|df=y}} | ||
| ⚫ | | runtime = 92 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 92:09--><ref>{{cite web | url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/friend-request-film | title=''FRIEND REQUEST'' (15) | publisher=] | date=15 March 2016 | accessdate=15 March 2016 | archive-date=16 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316031050/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/friend-request-film | url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | | country = Germany | ||
| ⚫ | | language = English | ||
| ⚫ | | budget = $9.9 million<ref name=BOM>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=friendrequest.htm|title=Friend Request|website=]|accessdate=19 September 2017|archive-date=21 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921023136/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=friendrequest.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
| | gross = $11 million<ref name="NUM">{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=friendrequest.htm |title=Friend Request |website=] |accessdate=10 December 2021 |archive-date=26 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226063631/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=friendrequest.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| }} | }} | ||
| '''''Friend Request''''' (released |
'''''Friend Request''''' (released internationally as '''''Unfriend''''') is a 2016 English-language German ] ] film directed by ]. The film was released in Germany on January 7, 2016 and received generally negative reviews from critics. | ||
| ==Plot== | ==Plot== | ||
| Laura Woodson is a popular campus student with over 800 friends on ]. She lives with Olivia Mathison, Isabelle, and Gustavo Garcia, Isabelle's boyfriend. She is close friends with Kobe and is dating Tyler McCormick. | |||
| <!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, the plot summary should be 900-2000 words. --> | |||
| Laura receives a friend request from her classmate Marina Mills. Noticing she has no friends, she accepts and the two begin a relationship as friends, but she is uncomfortable with Marina's obsessive behavior and sees that her Facebook profile is full of negative posts. Marina wants to attend Laura's birthday dinner but Laura lies and says only she and Tyler are going out. That night, Marina sees pictures of Laura and her friends on Facebook, and angrily confronts her the next day. During their quarrel, Laura accidentally reveals Marina's bald spot, a result of ]. She then unfriends Marina on Facebook. | |||
| Laura (]) is one of the most popular students at her college and enjoys an active social life with many friends and family members. She is active on ] and has over 800 friends on ]. She lives with three friends, Olivia (]), Isabel (Brooke Markham) and Gustavo (]). She is also close friends with Kobe (]) and is dating Tyler (]). | |||
| The next morning, it is announced that Marina committed suicide. Laura feels responsible but tries to forget about it until Marina uploads a video showing her burning a sketch of Laura before hanging herself. The video is somehow posted on Laura's own page and she is unable to remove it or delete her account. Marina adds Gustavo as a friend. He is then terrorized by a demonic spirit and has his face smashed by an invisible entity. Isabelle discovers him and is sent to the hospital. A video of Gustavo's apparent suicide is posted on Laura's page, damaging her reputation even further. | |||
| Laura receives a friend request from a student at her campus, Marina Mills. Seeing her talents in animation, she accepts the request and begins a friendship with the lonely girl. However she soon notices that Marina's Facebook profile is plastered in bizarre and disturbing images and her obsessive behavior begins to make Laura feel uncomfortable. When Laura shares pictures of herself at her birthday dinner – to which Marina was not invited – Marina publicly and angrily confronts her at her college campus. During the quarrel, Laura accidentally pushes Marina and her hood falls off, revealing her bald spot, causing Marina to run away. Laura notices Marina's several comments, who tries to apologize to her, Laura eventually unfriends Marina on Facebook. Seeing her number of friends once again down to zero, a heartbroken Marina angrily closes her laptop. That night, Laura notices a black mirror, which shows a forest where a dark figure is seen walking. As Laura is staring at it, a terrifying demonic face appears behind her, but quickly disappears when Olivia turns on the light. | |||
| Laura and Kobe break into Marina's dorm room and find an old class photograph from an orphanage. Laura visits the orphanage and discovers Marina's real last name is Nedifar, and she was tormented by two boys when she was younger. The boys were murdered, with their faces mutilated and swarmed by black wasps, the same way Gustavo died. Her mother had been part of a commune, rumored to be a demonic cult, until someone set it on fire. Her mother, then pregnant, was horribly burned and rendered ], so doctors performed a ] to deliver Marina. Kobe does research on black mirrors, which they keep seeing, and learns that they were mostly used by witches. | |||
| Another night, Marina uploads a video, showing she burns the drawing of Laura and commits suicide by hanging herself, terrifying Laura. | |||
| Isabelle becomes Marina's next victim. A video of her killing herself is posted on Laura's page. Olivia is attacked and, after being possessed, killed herself. Laura and Kobe go in search of the place where Marina committed suicide to destroy the black mirror she died in front of, as that is what she used to become an ] to torment Laura. Kobe, realizing he is the next victim, becomes deranged, and stabs Laura, hoping to kill her and save himself. | |||
| The next morning, Laura receives a message from Marina containing the video of her suicide. Later on, it is posted to her Facebook page. Laura is unable to remove the video, and her friend count drops. Left with no choice, she tries to delete her account, but an unknown error occurs. Laura attempts to text her friends that she didn't, but the texts suddenly change as "You will know what a lonely is :)". Realizing that she is being stalked, Laura goes to Kobe's apartment for help. When Kobe and Laura investigate Marina's Facebook page, they realize that the source code where it has been written is not the normal code. | |||
| She escapes and learns that Marina killed herself in a nearby factory. Tyler finds Laura, but Kobe kills him. After Laura reaches a dead end, Kobe gets killed by the swarm of wasps. Laura finally finds Marina's burned corpse and, after staring at her laptop, a demonic Marina lunges at her. | |||
| That night, Marina adds Gustavo as a friend and posts a distorted picture of his face. The lights suddenly cut off, he is then terrorized by a spirit, while seeing things that were posted on Marina's page. Gustavo rushes into the elevator for safety, only to be attacked by a swarm of wasps; he is discovered dead later by Isabelle. | |||
| In the epilogue, Laura, dressed in a hoodie, looks at a few girls the same way that Marina looked at Laura in the beginning. | |||
| The recorded video of the elevator attack is posted on Laura's Facebook page. Her friends subsequently turn against her by posting angry and disgusted comments, effectively making her an outcast. Laura goes to the orphanage where she meets the woman, who reveals that Marina's real last name is Nedifar; Marina was ruthlessly bullied and tormented by the boys when she was seven-year old. However, they were murdered by an unknown assailant. Meanwhile, Kobe is looking for the black mirror on a website. | |||
| A devastated Isabelle notices the mutilated body of Gustavo and rushes to find someone for help, but finds that nobody is there. To make matter worse, she finds the body of herself before being killed by the wasps. Laura watches the recorded footage of Isabelle which showing that everyone were here, revealing that she's been hallucinating. The footage was later posted on Laura's Facebook page. Tyler and Olivia are unable to delete the videos, unfriend Laura or deactivate her account as unknown errors keep occurring, Laura's Facebook friend count continues to drop. Laura notices the picture of Olivia from Marina's page, the picture slowly melts, implying that she is next. Laura attempts to call her, but Olivia has turned off her phone, alongside laptop. Olivia is attacked by Marina with wasps and taken into the hospital. Soon after, Marina possesses Olivia and attacks Detective Cameron's officer (]), taking the gun from him. Instead of shooting the officer, she shoots herself in the head, killing Olivia. | |||
| Meanwhile, Laura hunts down the place where Marina committed suicide in order to destroy the black mirror that turned Marina into an evil spirit. She and Kobe go to Marina's house which was burnt down and attempt to look for her. While there, Kobe sees an ethereal entity come out of the basement, but is saved when Laura bumps into him. She tells him that Marina is not there, but he suggests that they look in the basement. | |||
| Marina is not found in the basement, but while searching, Kobe is separated from Laura, who finds him staring into a black mirror. When she turns him around and asks what's wrong, he apologizes to Laura and says that she can't be lonely if she died. Kobe suddenly stabs her in the stomach, hoping to kill her in order to save himself and Tyler. Kobe attempts to stab her again, but Laura hits him with her flashlight and escapes from the basement as Kobe gives the chase but loses her. Laura then realizes through one of Marina's posts that Marina committed suicide in one of the nearby factories. | |||
| Meanwhile, Tyler finds a deranged Kobe looking for Laura. After getting a call, Tyler and Kobe head to the factories as well, but he tells Kobe to stay in the car while finding Laura. Once getting to the factories, a wounded Laura starts looking for Marina's body. She receives a video call from her mother, Caroline, who informs that she's been seeing Marina too. Laura's video call suddenly glitches out, as her mother begins to act strangely. Caroline takes a knife from the table, and goes to the other room, presumably killing herself. Devastated by her mother's death, Laura begins to cry after seeing everyone she's loved being taken away. Tyler soon finds her, only their reunion is cut short when Kobe appears and stabs Tyler in the throat, killing him. Laura attempts to escape Kobe once again but reaches a dead end. However, before he can kill Laura, Kobe is violently attacked and killed by Marina's wasps. | |||
| Laura, feeling dazed, sees an apparition of a two men (presumably the boys, who bullied Marina in the orphanage). Laura yells at Marina, asking what she wants from her, and spirit of younger Marina appears and says that she wanted to be friends with her as she leads Laura to Marina's rotten corpse and her laptop which transports Laura into one of Marina's earlier posts. Laura is then lunged at by a demonic Marina. | |||
| Some time has passed and there is a fresh batch of students. Laura is seen looking at some girls in the same way that Marina saw Laura and her friends. Laura then faces her laptop (presumably Marina's laptop) and is shown to have zero friends, just like Marina before she met Laura. Then her new account {{spaced ndash}}which shares the same dark, grotesque images and renamed as Lau Ra{{spaced ndash}} is revealed. Laura's eyes then turn from green to blue, implying that Marina has possessed Laura for eternity. | |||
| ==Cast== | ==Cast== | ||
| {{castlist| | |||
| * ] as Laura Woodson | * ] as Laura Woodson | ||
| * ] as Tyler McCormick | * ] as Tyler McCormick | ||
| Line 84: | Line 71: | ||
| * Brooke Markham as Isabel | * Brooke Markham as Isabel | ||
| * ] as Gustavo Garcia | * ] as Gustavo Garcia | ||
| * Liesl Ahlers as Marina Mills / Marina Nedifar | * ] as Marina Mills / Marina Nedifar | ||
| * Shashawnee Hall as Detective Cameron | * Shashawnee Hall as Detective Cameron | ||
| * Nick Pauling as Detective Cameron's officer | |||
| * Susan Danford as Caroline Woodson, Laura's mother | |||
| }} | |||
| ==Production== | ==Production== | ||
| Originally titled ''Unknown Error'', the film was later renamed to ''Friend Request'' internationally, to avoid confusion with the 2014 film '']''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Becher|first1=Björn|title="Unfriend" – Deutscher Social-Media-Horrorfilm kommt 2016 in die Kinos|url=http://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18494504.html|accessdate=4 December 2015|language= |
Originally titled ''Unknown Error'', the film was later renamed to ''Friend Request'' internationally, to avoid confusion with the 2014 film '']''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Becher|first1=Björn|title="Unfriend" – Deutscher Social-Media-Horrorfilm kommt 2016 in die Kinos|url=http://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18494504.html|accessdate=4 December 2015|language=de|date=8 July 2015|work=Filmstarts|archive-date=15 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715174413/https://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18494504.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In Germany, the film is titled ''Unfriend'', since ''Unfriended'' was released as ''Unknown User'' in Germany.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} | ||
| ===Filming=== | ===Filming=== | ||
| The film was shot in ] at the University of Cape Town, ]. Though the film was produced by German director ] and German production companies, the largely English-speaking cast required the film to be shot in English. Filming ended in March 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title= |
The film was shot in ] at the University of Cape Town, ]. Though the film was produced by German director ] and German production companies, the largely English-speaking cast required the film to be shot in English. Filming ended in March 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Willkommen bei den Hartmanns|url=http://www.simonverhoeven.com/news/unfriend/|accessdate=4 December 2015|language=de|work=Simon Verhoeven Official Website|first=Simon|last=Verhoeven|archive-date=29 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829072119/http://www.simonverhoeven.com/news/unfriend/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
| ==Release== | ==Release== | ||
| The film was released in Germany on 7 January 2016, 20 April 2016 in the United Kingdom and in the United States on 22 September 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Friend Request Project Details|url=http://www.w-b-film.de/en/projects/project-detail/projekt/friend-request/|publisher=Wiedemann & Berg|accessdate=4 December 2015}}</ref> | The film was released in Germany on 7 January 2016, 20 April 2016 in the United Kingdom and in the United States on 22 September 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Friend Request Project Details|url=http://www.w-b-film.de/en/projects/project-detail/projekt/friend-request/|publisher=Wiedemann & Berg|accessdate=4 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219210820/http://www.w-b-film.de/en/projects/project-detail/projekt/friend-request/|archive-date=19 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
| ==Reception== | |||
| ===Box office=== | ===Box office=== | ||
| ''Friend Request'' grossed $3.7 million in the United States and Canada and $7.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $11.3 million, against a production budget of $9.9 million.<ref name="NUM" /> | |||
| In North America, the film was released alongside '']'' and '']'', and was initially projected to gross around $5 |
In North America, the film was released alongside '']'' and '']'', and was initially projected to gross around $5 million from 2,569 theatres in its opening weekend.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-movie-projector-it-kingsman-lego-ninjago-20170920-htmlstory.html|first=Ryan|last=Faughnder|title='Kingsman: The Golden Circle' and 'Lego Ninjago' will battle 'It' for box office victory|website=]|date=20 September 2017|accessdate=20 September 2017|archive-date=20 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920135717/http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-movie-projector-it-kingsman-lego-ninjago-20170920-htmlstory.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, after grossing just $750,000 on its first day, weekend projections were lowered to $1.5–2 million. It ended up grossing $2 million, finishing 7th at the box office, and passing '']'' for the lowest opening gross for a film playing in over 2,500 theatres.<ref name=opening>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/09/kingsman-the-golden-circle-friend-request-lego-ninjago-box-office-weekend-1202174929/|title='Kingsman: The Golden Circle' Ropes $38M+; 'Ninjago' Dulls Sword To $21M; 'Friend Request' A Loner With $1.8M|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|website=]|date=23 September 2017|accessdate=23 September 2017|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711184918/https://deadline.com/2017/09/kingsman-the-golden-circle-friend-request-lego-ninjago-box-office-weekend-1202174929/|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
| ===Critical response=== | ===Critical response=== | ||
| The ] website ] gives the film an approval rating of 17% based on |
The ] website ] gives the film an approval rating of 17% based on 77 reviews, with an ] of 3.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Friend Request''{{'}}s attempts to update old-school teen horror for the digital age do not, sadly, include memorable characters, fresh scares, or novel storytelling twists."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/friend_request |title=Friend Request (2017) |website=] |accessdate=3 January 2021 |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104043321/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/friend_request |url-status=live }}</ref> On ], the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metacritic.com/movie/friend-request|title=Friend Request Reviews|website=]|accessdate=29 September 2017|archive-date=3 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003222728/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/friend-request|url-status=live}}</ref> Audiences polled by ] gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name=opening/> | ||
| Frank Scheck of '']'' praised the film for being "visually stylish and imaginative" but |
Frank Scheck of '']'' praised the film for being "visually stylish and imaginative" but criticised it for becoming less interesting as the film went on.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/review/friend-request-1041851|title='Friend Request': Film Review|work=]|date=22 September 2017|access-date=24 September 2017|first=Frank|last=Scheck|archive-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923173749/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/friend-request-1041851|url-status=live}}</ref> Jessica Kiang of '']'' was impressed by the practical effects, but criticised the way the film had little to do with the "technology that it ostensibly exists to critique".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/friend-request-review-unfriend-1202564734/|title=Film Review: 'Friend Request'|last=Kiang|first=Jessica|date=21 September 2017|work=]|access-date=24 September 2017|archive-date=24 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924080737/http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/friend-request-review-unfriend-1202564734/|url-status=live}}</ref> '']''{{'}}s William Bibbiani gave it a score of 2.5/10, calling it "a sincere, and sincerely inept motion picture, and that combination makes ''Friend Request'' the exact opposite of scary. It makes it unintentionally hilarious."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bibbiani |first=William |date=2017-09-21 |title=Friend Request Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/09/21/friend-request-review |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref> Jeffrey M. Anderson of ] gave it 2/5 stars, writing, "This horror movie begins with an intriguing idea – exploring the pitfalls of social media – but quickly succumbs to routine setups and payoffs typical of most uninspired ghost stories."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Jeffrey M. |title=Friend Request Movie Review |url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/friend-request |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Common Sense Media |language=en}}</ref> | ||
| Ally Wybrew of '']'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, praising Debnam-Carey, who " out otherwise mediocre performances" in contrast to the poorly written character of Marina. Wybrew went on to criticise the clunky lines, overenthusiastic score, and the protracted final act.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://empireonline.com/movies/friend-request/review/|title=Friend Request Review|last=Wybrew|first=Ally|website=]|accessdate=24 September 2017|date=19 April 2016|archive-date=24 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924105611/http://www.empireonline.com/movies/friend-request/review/|url-status=live}}</ref> '']'''s ] also gave it 3/5 stars, writing, "Despite an overreliance on loud bangs, director Simon Verhoeven pulls off a couple of chills, even as dialogue such as: 'Unfriend that dead bitch!' keep things snarky rather than scary."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kermode |first=Mark |date=2016-04-24 |title=Friend Request review – social media rustles up a few scares |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/apr/24/friend-request-review-social-media-horror |access-date=2023-12-23 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
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Latest revision as of 01:55, 29 November 2024
"Unfriend (2016 film)" redirects here. Not to be confused with Unfriended.2016 German film
| Friend Request | |
|---|---|
 US theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Simon Verhoeven |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jo Heim |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | |
| Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9.9 million |
| Box office | $11 million |
Friend Request (released internationally as Unfriend) is a 2016 English-language German supernatural psychological horror film directed by Simon Verhoeven. The film was released in Germany on January 7, 2016 and received generally negative reviews from critics.
Plot
Laura Woodson is a popular campus student with over 800 friends on Facebook. She lives with Olivia Mathison, Isabelle, and Gustavo Garcia, Isabelle's boyfriend. She is close friends with Kobe and is dating Tyler McCormick.
Laura receives a friend request from her classmate Marina Mills. Noticing she has no friends, she accepts and the two begin a relationship as friends, but she is uncomfortable with Marina's obsessive behavior and sees that her Facebook profile is full of negative posts. Marina wants to attend Laura's birthday dinner but Laura lies and says only she and Tyler are going out. That night, Marina sees pictures of Laura and her friends on Facebook, and angrily confronts her the next day. During their quarrel, Laura accidentally reveals Marina's bald spot, a result of hair pulling disorder. She then unfriends Marina on Facebook.
The next morning, it is announced that Marina committed suicide. Laura feels responsible but tries to forget about it until Marina uploads a video showing her burning a sketch of Laura before hanging herself. The video is somehow posted on Laura's own page and she is unable to remove it or delete her account. Marina adds Gustavo as a friend. He is then terrorized by a demonic spirit and has his face smashed by an invisible entity. Isabelle discovers him and is sent to the hospital. A video of Gustavo's apparent suicide is posted on Laura's page, damaging her reputation even further.
Laura and Kobe break into Marina's dorm room and find an old class photograph from an orphanage. Laura visits the orphanage and discovers Marina's real last name is Nedifar, and she was tormented by two boys when she was younger. The boys were murdered, with their faces mutilated and swarmed by black wasps, the same way Gustavo died. Her mother had been part of a commune, rumored to be a demonic cult, until someone set it on fire. Her mother, then pregnant, was horribly burned and rendered brain dead, so doctors performed a C-section to deliver Marina. Kobe does research on black mirrors, which they keep seeing, and learns that they were mostly used by witches.
Isabelle becomes Marina's next victim. A video of her killing herself is posted on Laura's page. Olivia is attacked and, after being possessed, killed herself. Laura and Kobe go in search of the place where Marina committed suicide to destroy the black mirror she died in front of, as that is what she used to become an evil spirit to torment Laura. Kobe, realizing he is the next victim, becomes deranged, and stabs Laura, hoping to kill her and save himself.
She escapes and learns that Marina killed herself in a nearby factory. Tyler finds Laura, but Kobe kills him. After Laura reaches a dead end, Kobe gets killed by the swarm of wasps. Laura finally finds Marina's burned corpse and, after staring at her laptop, a demonic Marina lunges at her.
In the epilogue, Laura, dressed in a hoodie, looks at a few girls the same way that Marina looked at Laura in the beginning.
Cast
- Alycia Debnam-Carey as Laura Woodson
- William Moseley as Tyler McCormick
- Connor Paolo as Kobe
- Brit Morgan as Olivia Mathison
- Brooke Markham as Isabel
- Sean Marquette as Gustavo Garcia
- Liesl Ahlers as Marina Mills / Marina Nedifar
- Shashawnee Hall as Detective Cameron
- Nick Pauling as Detective Cameron's officer
- Susan Danford as Caroline Woodson, Laura's mother
Production
Originally titled Unknown Error, the film was later renamed to Friend Request internationally, to avoid confusion with the 2014 film Unfriended. In Germany, the film is titled Unfriend, since Unfriended was released as Unknown User in Germany.
Filming
The film was shot in Cape Town at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Though the film was produced by German director Simon Verhoeven and German production companies, the largely English-speaking cast required the film to be shot in English. Filming ended in March 2014.
Release
The film was released in Germany on 7 January 2016, 20 April 2016 in the United Kingdom and in the United States on 22 September 2017.
Reception
Box office
Friend Request grossed $3.7 million in the United States and Canada and $7.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $11.3 million, against a production budget of $9.9 million.
In North America, the film was released alongside Kingsman: The Golden Circle and The Lego Ninjago Movie, and was initially projected to gross around $5 million from 2,569 theatres in its opening weekend. However, after grossing just $750,000 on its first day, weekend projections were lowered to $1.5–2 million. It ended up grossing $2 million, finishing 7th at the box office, and passing Victor Frankenstein for the lowest opening gross for a film playing in over 2,500 theatres.
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 17% based on 77 reviews, with an average rating of 3.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Friend Request's attempts to update old-school teen horror for the digital age do not, sadly, include memorable characters, fresh scares, or novel storytelling twists." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film for being "visually stylish and imaginative" but criticised it for becoming less interesting as the film went on. Jessica Kiang of Variety was impressed by the practical effects, but criticised the way the film had little to do with the "technology that it ostensibly exists to critique". IGN's William Bibbiani gave it a score of 2.5/10, calling it "a sincere, and sincerely inept motion picture, and that combination makes Friend Request the exact opposite of scary. It makes it unintentionally hilarious." Jeffrey M. Anderson of Common Sense Media gave it 2/5 stars, writing, "This horror movie begins with an intriguing idea – exploring the pitfalls of social media – but quickly succumbs to routine setups and payoffs typical of most uninspired ghost stories."
Ally Wybrew of Empire gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, praising Debnam-Carey, who " out otherwise mediocre performances" in contrast to the poorly written character of Marina. Wybrew went on to criticise the clunky lines, overenthusiastic score, and the protracted final act. The Observer's Mark Kermode also gave it 3/5 stars, writing, "Despite an overreliance on loud bangs, director Simon Verhoeven pulls off a couple of chills, even as dialogue such as: 'Unfriend that dead bitch!' keep things snarky rather than scary."
References
- "FRIEND REQUEST (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- "Friend Request". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ^ "Friend Request". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- Becher, Björn (8 July 2015). ""Unfriend" – Deutscher Social-Media-Horrorfilm kommt 2016 in die Kinos". Filmstarts (in German). Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- Verhoeven, Simon. "Willkommen bei den Hartmanns". Simon Verhoeven Official Website (in German). Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- "Friend Request Project Details". Wiedemann & Berg. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- Faughnder, Ryan (20 September 2017). "'Kingsman: The Golden Circle' and 'Lego Ninjago' will battle 'It' for box office victory". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (23 September 2017). "'Kingsman: The Golden Circle' Ropes $38M+; 'Ninjago' Dulls Sword To $21M; 'Friend Request' A Loner With $1.8M". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- "Friend Request (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- "Friend Request Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- Scheck, Frank (22 September 2017). "'Friend Request': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- Kiang, Jessica (21 September 2017). "Film Review: 'Friend Request'". Variety. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- Bibbiani, William (21 September 2017). "Friend Request Review". IGN. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- Anderson, Jeffrey M. "Friend Request Movie Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- Wybrew, Ally (19 April 2016). "Friend Request Review". Empire. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- Kermode, Mark (24 April 2016). "Friend Request review – social media rustles up a few scares". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
External links
| Films directed by Simon Verhoeven | |
|---|---|
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- 2016 films
- 2016 horror thriller films
- 2016 psychological thriller films
- 2010s psychological horror films
- 2010s supernatural horror films
- 2010s supernatural thriller films
- 2010s teen horror films
- English-language German films
- Films about Facebook
- Films about suicide
- Films about cyberbullying
- Films scored by Martin Todsharow
- Films set in 1995
- Films set in 2015
- Films shot in the Western Cape
- German films about revenge
- German horror thriller films
- German psychological thriller films
- German supernatural horror films
- German teen horror films
- Teen thriller films
- 2010s English-language films
- 2010s German films
- English-language horror thriller films
- Warner Bros. films
- German psychological horror films