John Cho as David in Searching.Image via Screen Gems
By
William Smith
Published 13 minutes ago
William Smith is a freelance writer currently living in the Midwest with his wife and daughter, where he spends too much time watching movies and then writing about them. He doesn't read your hurtful comments and doesn't have any social media, so any criticisms must be sent by carrier pigeon.
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Visual storytelling has continually evolved since film cameras first made it possible to capture moving images. While movies began in a staid format where camera movement was extremely limited, they've adapted through technological breakthroughs. Entire film movements have been made out of singular visual aesthetics that embrace one definable visual methodology, often in search of more immersive viewing experiences. There have been single-shot films, found footage films and, more recently, the screenlife film.
These are the films that tell their stories entirely on screens, be they computer, smartphone or otherwise. Using these more advanced forms of communication, they try to capture the zeitgeist and update standard tropes or plots into a modern context. Sometimes, this method can be a complete disaster, turning a classic like War of the Worlds into an extended ad for Amazon starring Ice Cube. The best films of this kind, however, are elevated through their use of the screenlife format, and while there haven't been an incredible number of them, these six are the greatest.
6 'Unfriended' (2014)
Shelley Hennig as Blaire, screaming in horror in UnfriendedImage via Universal Pictures
Unsurprisingly, much like the adjacent found footage genre, the majority of screenlife movies have tended towards horror. Teen horror seems especially apt, since they are the highest demographic of screen users and make up a high proportion of horror film viewers and characters as well. Unfriended takes the typical teens against a supernatural entity and filters it through a perpetually online lens that includes a toxic dose of cyberbullying. The movie follows a young group of friends whose Skype chat is infiltrated by an unknown who is eventually revealed to be their friend who died by suicide.
The haunting here is all about unearthing toxic behaviors from within the friend group, including that which ultimately contributed to the friend's death, and the screenlife format makes each character feel trapped within their own little box. Unfriended is not much more than a teen slasher movie with a supernatural modern tech twist, but it uses the format well, and the young actors have a natural chemistry that makes them feel closer to real teens than is often the case with these kinds of movies.
5 'Profile' (2018)
Valene Kane as Amy Whittaker in Profile smiling.Image via Focus Feature
Timur Bekmambetov has been one of the major driving creative forces behind screenlife movies, having produced a number of them, including Unfriended, and directed the true crime-based thriller Profile. Based on the non-fiction book In the Skin of a Jihadist by Anna Erelle, the film follows a reporter who creates a fictional online profile in order to investigate the recruiting tactics of ISIS. This risky gambit leads her to develop an online relationship with an ISIS member whom she also forms genuine romantic feelings for.
Profile takes a look at the dangers of how online extremism can develop and how vulnerable young women can also become trafficked. Even with the screenlife format attempting to lend a grittier authenticity, the fictionalized film story can't escape its pulpier trappings, which ultimately means it doesn't quite stick the landing or achieve its loftier ambitions. Still, Profile is an interesting approach to apply the screenlife format to a more topical and political subject, and maybe it will be a herald for a more cohesive and effective film to come.
4 'Missing' (2023)
Bekmambetov also produced the screenlife cyber thriller Missing, which is more successful than Profile as it more fully embraces its genre elements and uses its format to refresh its by-the-numbers plot. Emmy nominee Storm Reid plays a teenager who becomes a cybersleuth after her mother and her boyfriend don't return from their vacation. Her tech-savvy mystery-solving skills lead her to uncover a much deeper conspiracy.
If it were told in a more traditional style, Missing would just be another bog-standard thriller attempting to appeal to the YA crowd, but the screenlife approach helps it stand out. It puts a modern spin on its plot and taps into the popularity of the online sleuthing communities that have formed in response to our true crime-obsessed culture. It may be ludicrous, and its twists may not hold up to much scrutiny, but thanks to a fresh approach and a strong central performance, Missing is a solid and ultimately entertaining technothriller.
3 'Searching' (2018)
John Cho as David on his computer screen looking at his daughter's driver's license in SearchingImage via Sony Pictures Releasing
Missing was a spiritual sequel to the more effective Searching, which stars John Cho as a desperate father in search of his missing daughter. He combs through her online accounts to piece together the puzzle, in the process learning many of the secrets she kept. Searching is an overall more successful use of the screenlife format to tell a taut thriller, partly because of how familiar and scary it can feel to any parent who worries about the online dangers their child could be exposed to.
The movie isn't too interested in deeply interrogating any of the darker or more sordid aspects of online predation, and only briefly touches on those before the plot takes a turn into more standard mystery-thriller territory. It's all still very compelling, thanks to the ever-underrated John Cho's strong lead performance and director Aneesh Chaganty's effective use of the format, which never ends up feeling like a hollow gimmick. Searching also proves that no matter what form a thriller takes, it's still only as good as its characters, plot and direction.
2 'Host' (2020)
Image via Shudder
The most effective and scary of all the screenlife horror films, Host is a lean, mean supernatural thriller that uses the limitations of its format to incredible effect. Set and shot during the COVID lockdown, the film follows a group of friends who, while staying in touch over Zoom, decide to hold a virtual seance on a lark. Naturally, the fun and games quickly give way to a dangerous and sinister force that begins to torment them.
Host went into production during quarantine, meaning the actors all had to set up their own lighting and sound, in addition to accomplishing some very effective low-tech effects. They also did a great deal of improvising with director Rob Savage, lending a very natural quality to their characters that grounds the supernatural horror and makes it eerily relatable for the online generation. With a brisk runtime of under an hour, Host never overstays its welcome and gets maximum impact out of its old-school scares given a modern spin.
1 'Language Lessons' (2021)
Image via Shout! Studios
Proving that the screenlife format can be used for more than just jump scares and mystery plots, Language Lessons is a heartfelt drama about two people connecting through their computer screens. The film stars Natalie Morales and Mark Duplass — who also co-wrote the film together while Morales directed, as a Spanish tutor and student, respectively — who communicate solely through their webcams. After Duplass' character loses his husband in an accident, the two become more vulnerable with each other and connect on a deeper level.
Language Lessons is one of the most understated and honest depictions of modern online relationships, and its use of the screenlife format is one of the big reasons it's so effective, in addition to Morales and Duplass' chemistry. It's not breaking any new ground in its storytelling, simply updating it to the digital era. It is the same kind of long-distance connection that used to be maintained with letters and, subsequently, emails. These stories never get old; they just get upgraded.
Language Lessons
Not Yet Rated
Drama
Release Date
September 10, 2021
Cast
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Natalie Morales
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Mark Duplass
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