In the genre of virtual horror movies, Host is the latest craze, but how does it compare to the horror blockbuster of just six years before, Unfriended? While these two films are far from the only tech horror movies available, they are two of the biggest, gaining mostly positive reviews from critics and creating a splash in online horror circles.
The unique gimmick of both films is that they are shot almost entirely through screen shares and webcams, with video chats being the focus of the drama. While Unfriended follows a group of high school friends Skype chatting following the suicide of a mutual friend, Host focuses on a group of young women who are conducting a seance over a Zoom call during quarantine.
With both movies using such a similar video chat premise and utilizing webcams and screen shares as the primary filming technique, it’s only natural for audiences to compare the two. Are they both effective scares, or does one outshine the other? Here's how they compare.
Which Web Horror Movie is Better?
Breaking past the basic-level similarities of both films being shot on webcams, Host and Unfriended offer scares through very similar tactics. Both films start off with fairly innocent video chats between a group of friends, but then ratchet up the tension as things start to go seriously wrong. One by one, the friends start to get picked off as unexplained supernatural events make it look like they've committed suicide.
Unfriended focuses on the group dynamics of the friends, building tension between the characters as the ghost of their dead friend makes them air all their inter-relational secrets. One by one, the friends kill themselves/are killed as more of the truth comes out. In Unfriended, the real horror is more about the secrets and backstabbing that exists within a group of high school friends, and how fragile their bond really is.
In contrast, Host really focuses on the supernatural element. The central action of the plot revolves around a seance and a demonic entity coming in to connect with all the participants after one of the women pretends she’s being contacted by the ghost of an old grade-school friend. While there is a small amount of inter-group bickering and drama, the scares really come from the external conflict rather than the internal forces at play.
Host is really a more grown-up version of Unfriended, offering better scares, great horror effects, and a more compelling narrative. The grown-up feel doesn’t just stem from the older characters, although it is a noteworthy criticism that the group of high schoolers and their in-fighting in Unfriended, while probably relatable for most people, is more grating than it is sympathetic. In Host, the friends feel more real, with dialogue that seems like it might actually be exchanged between a group of friends. Unfriended is definitely a cheesier experience—all the drama feels over the top, causing the whole experience to feel very movie-like.
Host’s seance is maybe a little played-out as a premise, but the movie takes a fresh look at the old trope and does a really good job with it. Plus, it feels like something a group of friends might actually do for fun, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The horror effects of Host also pack more of a punch. In Unfriended, kills are seen for a split second with barely any actual effects used, while in Host the kills are more visceral. While they still move quickly, they offer a more effective ramp of tension, expertly playing with the audience's fears.
In Host, the fear amongst the friends is palpable, the premise feels very real, and the horror elements feel extremely rooted in reality, despite the supernatural element. In contrast, Unfriended offers up a premise that’s much more nebulous and removed from reality—it feels like a movie, which gives the audience a degree of separation from the events of the film.