'Unfriended' Trailer Video Released: Horror Film Generates Internet Buzz
The film "Unfriended" is based on the act of slut-shaming on social media which has led to a number of suicides. It then morphs into a true horror movie with gruesome killings.
The recently shown trailer of the film showcased these plot points and soon went on to become a viral sensation.
According to Wikipedia, slut-shaming is "the act of making a person, especially a woman or girl, feel guilty or inferior for certain sexual behaviors, circumstances, or desires that deviate from traditional or orthodox gender expectations, or that which may be considered to be contrary to natural or religious law."
Even Twitter was not immune to the phenomenon unleashed by the trailer and the term "Unfriended" trended for several hours as buzz around the film grew. The trailer, which was widely available on social media sites and on YouTube, led with the message "Online your memories last forever, but so do you mistakes." It then explored the death of Laura Barns.
In the movie, Barns becomes drunk after a party and passes out. However, someone took a video and then posted it online anonymously which led to people slut-shaming her. Three days later Barns committed suicide by shooting herself, which was also caught on tape.
Action then picked up a year later when the people who posted the video are contacted on Skype by an unknown person who used Barns' account. The person then threatened them to confess to posting the video or die. When nobody comes forward to confess, each of them started getting killed off horribly.
The film takes place mostly on Blaire's (Shelley Hennig) computer monitor and people are killed off while they are online on Skype. Several other social media sites such as Facebook, Spotify and Google are also featured.
Reporting on the popularity of the trailer, CNET said the premise is totally feasible because slut-shaming has led to several suicides. It also said that while horrific murders have not been committed, it is not uncommon for people's mistakes to make their way online anonymously where they create havoc in their lives.
The trailer and the film itself have mostly positive reviews from various sites which described them as "beautifully simple."