Friend Request

A popular college student, Laura, invites a lonely outcast named Marina onto her social media profile. When Marina's obsessive online behavior escalates into real-world stalking and a dark ritual, Laura unfriends her. This act unleashes a vengeful supernatural force that begins to systematically kill Laura's closest friends, forcing her to uncover the truth behind Marina's death and find a way to stop the entity before it claims her too.

Friend Request received generally negative reviews from critics, who often cited its predictable plot, underdeveloped characters, and reliance on jump scares. While some acknowledged the timely themes of social media addiction and cyberbullying, the film was largely seen as a derivative and uninspired entry in the supernatural horror genre. Audiences, however, showed a more divided response, with some finding it a moderately effective thriller.

• The film attempts to tap into contemporary fears surrounding social media but ultimately falters due to a predictable script and uninspired direction.
• Relies heavily on jump scares and clichéd horror tropes, failing to deliver genuine suspense or originality.
• Despite a relevant premise, the execution is lackluster, with flat characters and a story that feels overly familiar.

Google audience: Audiences were divided, with many finding the film's concept interesting and occasionally suspenseful, but a significant portion found it to be a generic horror flick with a predictable storyline and a lack of character development. Some viewers appreciated the commentary on social media's darker side.

The film's original German title is 'Unfriend'. It was released in Germany in 2016 but had a limited release in the US in 2017.