10 Films That Helped Blumhouse Take Over Cinema
6. Unfriended
Since the internet became the most significant part of human existence, the horror genre has been trying to crack a way to make it scary. Movies such as FeardotCom tried to find a way to transform the online world into a terrifying place, well before abusive Twitter accounts and data-harvesting social media companies did it for them. One of the few films to actually succeed in mining scares from the web is 2015's Unfriended - an exercise in high-concept claustrophobia.
The movie is entirely confined within the computer screen of its protagonist as she becomes locked into a Skype chat with her friends that is gradually leading to all of their deaths. It's an ingenious concept that works both as a way of maintaining tension and critiquing the constantly plugged-in lives of modern teenagers.
It's a perfect example of the Blumhouse formula, taking a tiny $1m budget and transforming it into $64m at the box office thanks to an innovative online marketing campaign and positive word of mouth. Blumhouse bought the rights to the project after strong test screening responses and a run on the festival circuit, showing their clear ability to smell what will sell as a wide cinema release.