Friend Request
| Friend Request | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Simon Verhoeven |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Starring |
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| Music by | Gary Go |
| Cinematography | Jo Heim |
| Edited by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures (Germany & United Kingdom) Freestyle Releasing (USA) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 92 minutes[1] |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | English |
Friend Request (German title: Unfriend) is a 2016 English-speaking supernatural techno-thriller film directed by Simon Verhoeven. With a screenplay by Matthew Ballen, Philip Koch and Verhoeven, the film stars Alycia Debnam-Carey, William Moseley, Connor Paolo, Brit Morgan, Brooke Markham, Sean Marquette, and Liesl Ahlers.
The film was released on 7 January 2016 in Germany by Warner Bros. Pictures, and is expected to be released in the United States in the April 2016 by Freestyle Releasing.[2]
Premise
Laura is one of the most popular students in college and enjoys her life and family. She is active on social networks and especially likes sharing things about herself with over 800 of her friends on Facebook.
One day, Laura receives a friend request from "Marina", a girl she barely knows, but nevertheless accepts it and begins a relationship with the lonely girl online and outdoors. However, when Laura shares a picture of herself at her birthday dinner, the jealous and confused Marina angrily confronts Laura at college publicly before she is stopped by security and taken away, vowing revenge on Laura.
That night, Marina commits suicide via a live webcam video she sends to Laura due to the fact that Laura unfriended her off her Facebook page. Soon after, Laura finds herself stalked by Marina's demonic spirit and threatening to make her "lonely" after taking over her Facebook page in order to remain friends… forever.
Cast
- Alycia Debnam-Carey as Laura Woodson
- William Moseley as Tyler
- Connor Paolo as Kobe
- Brit Morgan as Olivia
- Brooke Markham as Isabel
- Sean Marquette as Gustavo
- Liesl Ahlers as Marina Mills
Production
Originally titled Unknown Error, the film was later renamed to Friend Request internationally, to avoid confusion with the 2014 film Unfriended.[3] In Germany, the film is titled Unfriend, since Unfriended was released as Unknown User in Germany.
Filming
The film was shot in Cape Town, South Africa. Though the film was produced by German director Simon Verhoeven and German production companies, the largely English-speaking cast required the film to be shot in English. Filming ended in March 2014.[4]
Release
The film was released in Germany on January 7, 2016.[5] The film was picked up by Freestyle Releasing in January 2016 and is scheduled to be released in the fourth quarter of 2016.[2]
References
- ↑ "FRIEND REQUEST (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- 1 2 http://deadline.com/2016/01/friend-request-movie-acquisition-freestyle-releasing-byron-allen-1201683226/
- ↑ Becher, Björn (July 8, 2015). ""Unfriend" – Deutscher Social-Media-Horrorfilm kommt 2016 in die Kinos". filmstarts.de (in German). Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Dreharbeiten abgeschlossen". simonverhoeven.com (in German). March 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Friend Request Project Details". Wiedemann & Berg. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
External links
- Friend Request at the Internet Movie Database
- Friend Request on Facebook (German)