Anyone who knows me can tell you I have a horrific hatred towards movies that prefer the “found footage” style over traditional storytelling methods. It’s like watching Michael Bay grovel in front of America and say, “Look! I did something different! Did I do good?”

This year hasn’t done much to attempt in changing my attitude towards it. The Vatican Tapes was an eye-roller and The Gallows was just begging to place its head beneath the guillotine. Before those films released, however, there was one film that made me bite. And bite I did.

Unfriended presents a story where six friends are haunted by the spirit of a dead classmate via Skype. Throughout the night, they are mercilessly terrorized and threatened to be killed if any of them is to log off. The only way out is if one of them reveals a terrible secret.

(Jeez, I sound like a DVR description…)

You can already expect what follows. Some skinhead is going to log off and die, regardless of it happening now or later. I guess it’s a way the filmmaker establishes to the viewer that the ghost isn’t beating around the bush.

Really, it’s a modern horror movie. You got your young’ns who are so reckless and rebellious and always wanting to do the sex on the Facebook. There’s the couple that's hornier than the antlers on Rudolph’s head, then you have the ghost who is connected to everyone in some convoluted backstory.

(This is a real website: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cbe_1404939016)

Speaking of “backstory,” Unfriended has a backstory that sort of blends in with what you might find on the news. Laura Barns was a classmate of the six main characters. One night, Laura got hammered at a party. Later, she is found passed out on the ground. A video of the episode was uploaded to YouTube and started a mass attack, causing her to breakdown and kill herself in front of her school. It’s been a year since her death and now she’s back for revenge.

Hmm. Sounds like a very, very mediocre Creepypasta…

Let’s be real here. There is nothing ground-breaking about Unfriended. No, I’m not saying that because it’s a found footage film. I’m saying that because there isn’t much about it that makes it unique besides the fact that the screen is a Macbook desktop for the entire 80 minutes.

BUT, I actually did not hate it. There were moments where I felt clueless and helpless for not knowing what Laura was going to do next. My interest was held, not in excitement for something stupid to happen, but in the question of “Who posted the video?” More details of the characters backstabbing each other are revealed, but Unfriended does leave some sort of mystery that captures your attention for the whole film.

I also have to give the entire cast and crew credit for their production process. The film was shot on a budget of one million dollars. The actors improvised the entire movie which gave a nice, genuine feel for the movie, something most horror movies these days forget to put in. The Facebook message scenes were added in during post-production, potentially saving the movie; the message scenes added a nice change of pace between the bloodcurdling screams. And seeing the phrases we have adapted to, such as “[insert name] is typing…” or that accursed speech bubble from iMessage, have a tendency to be promising and friendly or dreadful and nerve-wracking. Unfriended unleashes that anxiety in waiting for the next message and it does not hold back.

While I may not like to admit it, I kind of enjoyed this movie. It’s not enough to make me go out and buy a copy (at $20, anyway), but I may wait a while until MovieStop lowers the price. Perhaps at $10, I’ll consider it. In the meantime, if a friend expresses interest, I won’t hesitate in renting it again and watching it a second time. Or even a third.

And just for fun, you can like a memorial page of Laura Barns on Facebook. It's something a little enjoyable for people who like the movie and encourages friends and family to watch it.

One last thing, though: I don’t have much respect for the production company, Blumhouse Productions, nor Universal Pictures. As I was typing this, my roommate shouted “They’re making a sequel!” from across the hall.

This is what Paranormal Activity 7's plot will be.