Friend Request (5 Stars)

Have you ever watched a film that's scary? I mean really, really scary. I stumbled on this film by accident, and it's one of the scariest films I've ever seen. It's perfect for Halloween viewing, if any of my readers are dedicating this month to horror films.

Laura Woodson is a first year Psychology student at Newkirk University in California. This town doesn't exist, and the film was shot in Cape Town, South Africa. The establishing town shots make no attempt to hide this. But that's irrelevant. We see her in a lecture about I.D.S, Internet Dependency Syndrome. The lecturer points Laura out as an example when he sees her looking at her laptop instead of listening to him.

Yes, she is addicted to the Internet. She has 864 friends on Facebook. When you have that many friends you've made it. You're an all round popular person. Laura is a shallow party girl who's known and loved by everyone who means anything on the Newkirk campus scene. Can a Psychology student be shallow? Obviously she can.

A fellow student is the absolute opposite. Marina Mills, who calls herself Ma Rina, has 0 friends on Facebook. Zero. She wants to be accepted, so she sends a friend request to Laura. Laura's not a bad girl, so she accepts. This is the beginning of a personal hell. Marina becomes obsessed with her only friend and turns into a stalker.

After Laura unfriends Marina she kills herself. But that's not the end of the story, it's just the beginning. Marina's suicide is only 20 minutes into the film. Then the terror becomes worse.

I've read reviews from critics who criticise the lack of depth in Laura and her friends. Don't they understand the film? That's the whole point. Laura is a shallow person, and her friends aren't much better. Marina is the most fascinating person in the film, a desperate, insecure person that we can't help feeling sorry for. This is an astounding film that everyone should watch, and not just for Halloween.

	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de