You can forget the title Cybernatural from this day forward because Universal has decided to re-title the bloody thriller for marketing purposes. That’s right! A new title they feel will attract Facebook users to see the Levan Gabriadze directed film early next year.

After acquiring it from Blumhouse, Universal has now officially re-titled Cybernatural to Unfriended. Does it sound more appropriate? Indeed it does since the film is about six high school friends who deal with a malevolent force that haunts them during a session on Skype. Unfriended is scheduled for release on April 17th, 2015. The film stars Shelley Hennig, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Courtney Halverson, Matthew Bohrer, Heather Sossaman, and Jacob Wysocki.

You can read our review here, or dip into our interview with the director that we conducted at Fantasia 2014.

The day after screening Cybernatural‘s World Premiere on July 20th at Fantasia 2014, we had the chance to speak with the film’s director, Leo Gabriadze. The interview about the genre-redefining film, written by Nelson Greaves, was enlightening and interesting. Coming away from it, after learning that Leo was initially attracted to the project because of the bullying aspect, we have a sneaking suspicion that the soft-spoken Russian commercial director (who bears a physical similarity to Jean Reno) has a closer relationship to being bullied than he lets on.

Leo raised some good points about why Cybernatrual feels so familiar, despite its supernatural elements. We could tell that he also had some theological opinions that he wanted to express, but we didn’t feel it necessary to pursue that angle.

To set the scene, after having our Fantasia coordinator call Leo’s room and waking him from a siesta, we met up with Leo in his hotel’s courtyard under a blistering sun. As he smoked his slim cigarettes, we had to strain our ears to hear his words and we had to help him with his English in some spots, but in the end we came away with a great interview.

So, see Cybernatural whenever you can get the chance, and enjoy our interview with Leo Gabriadze.

Cybernatural made its World Premiere last night; how did you feel about the audience reaction?
I was surprised. It was very good, I thought. There were a lot of reactions, a lot of laughing, it felt like they were scared. It was good. [The audience] was very young, a lot of students, young professionals, it was closer to our demographic, maybe we could go younger a little bit.

What’s the rating on the movie?
We don’t have a rating. There’s a lot of cursing there, so I guess an R. I don’t know how it’s done in America, but there’s a lot of “fucks.”

The subject matter, it’s very close to what school teenagers go through at this point, so it would be a pity if they don’t get to see it because it is for them I guess because it’s very much what’s hurting them… of this epidemic that’s happening right now.

With cyberbullying?
Yes, cyberbullying. We all, more or less, went through that ourselves. We witnessed it firsthand. It’s scary, it’s ugliness… sometimes bullies themselves become bullied. Anybody can be a bully; it’s so easy to fall into that crack to become a bully. It’s out of control. I said from the stage yesterday, when I was a kid we had in school proper bullies; we knew them, we were scared of them, we lived around them, we knew that the guy could come and be really rough. Now they’re hiding everywhere and I can be one myself, that’s the most dangerous part about it.

When we were kids it was more of physical thing and now it’s psychological…
Yeah, it’s psychological. It used to go away. One week you’d walk around with this pain in your heart, you would wish nobody knew about it, now it never goes away. It’s there. And what happened now with Google being sued by the Spanaird that he had the right to be forgotten. Generally, for humans the ability to forget is a big thing to be happy. So much stuff happens in life with everybody that if we weren’t able to forget about it, we would be really unhappy people. And now with computers, because that thing doesn’t know how to forget, it’s all there and we’ve lost the ability to forget.

Also, the Q&A session after the film was partially held via Skype; was that the first time something like that has been tried?
Yeah, I never participated in anything like that. But it was somehow appropriate (laughs).

Will there be a Cybernatural sequel? Find out after the jump…

Cybernatural (directed by Leo Gabriadze, written by Nelson Greaves, and produced by Timur Bekmambetov) made its world premiere at Fantasia 2014, and we were there to screen it. And are we ever glad we did! This is a film that defies conventions and, in the process, redefines a genre. Telling the story of a cyber haunting via one character’s perspective, Blaire (Shelley Hennig), the genre this film redefines is, first and foremost, that of “found-footage.” However, part of that redefinition means that there’s no, or at least very little, shaky-cam footage, and there’s no lost tapes that we’ve suddenly become privy to.

What we are privy to is interactive communication between friends, almost like we’re the spirit doing the haunting in Cybernatural, or as if we’re eavesdropping on the conversation.

What we see via Blaire’s perspective is limited to what she sees on her computer screen… and that’s it. If you were to watch Cybernatural on your computer, you might actually feel like you’re part of the film as you appear to lose control of your computer. But the interactive experience isn’t lost in the theater either, as Gabriadze did a fantastic job of making everything feel familiar to anyone who uses social media. It’s also especially poignant for teenagers, who live in this cyber world. Additionally, the humor used aids in immersing the audience in the experience.

I don’t want to give away too much of the film, so I’ll divert to the synopsis given on IMDB:

While video chatting one night, six high school friends receive a Skype message from a classmate who killed herself exactly one year ago. At first they think it’s a prank, but when the girl starts revealing the friends’ darkest secrets, they realize they are dealing with something out of this world, something that wants them dead.

In addition to making a social commentary on our use of social media, Cybernatural also addresses the epidemic of bullying, and more specifically how bullying is conducted in today’s world. The days of the school-yard bully almost feel like a distant memory, though I’m sure they still exist. As Cybernatural makes clear, anyone can be a bully or a victim with the Internet to hide behind.

The cast (which includes Shelley Hennig, Renee Olstead, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson, and Moses Jacob Storm) has incredible chemistry, and given the fact that they basically improvised the script, much of this film’s flawlessness is owed to them. But more than being witness to their chemistry, you will sympathize their plight and feel as though you are one of them.

The Verdict: 4/5 Skulls

Cybernatural is a truly unique film, one that redefines so much of our horror experience. And that’s what this film really is, an experience rather than a third-person observation. If Paranormal Activity was the successor to The Blair Witch Project, then Cybernatural succeeds Paranormal Activity. Cybernatural is a must-see for any genre fan who’s growing tired of the same old tricks, and it’s for anyone looking for something totally awesome.