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Back when Unfriended was still going by the title of Cybernatural, director Leo Gabriadze said he came onto the project because he was attracted to the story’s subject matter. Nelson Greaves’ script demonstrated how personal harassment had since changed in the digital age; in particular those younger people whose torment went beyond the classroom. The internet had not only made a bully’s reach greater but also unavoidable. And in true horror fashion, Unfriended provided an unsettling portrayal of victimhood as well as sadistic retribution from beyond the grave.

Unfriended immediately broke tradition by staying close to home as opposed to traveling to the deep, dark woods or anywhere else teens tend to go and die in horror. More unusual was the unexciting premise of these characters video-chatting all night instead of meeting in person at an ominous social event of some kind. After years of critics reproaching the...