Those who know me know that I always have fun with a good screen-life horror flick, for those unaware "Screen-life" is the name of the subgenre of horror stories that take place entirely from a screen, usually a computer or smartphone (I learned this after chatting with Screen-life horror filmmaker Michelle Ianantuanno on my horror podcast Talking Terror). I feel it's fair to say this sub-genre started with the 2015 Blumhouse film Unfriended, since then there have been rising number of entries to the sub-genre, especially after the 2020 Covid lockdown, for obvious reasons. Some of these films include Host, Livescream and Spree, all of which are super fun and innovative ways to be able to tell a horror story, even when you can't leave your house. The format has also been used outside the horror space for thrillers like Searching and Missing.
So, how does Don't Log Off compare to other small screen screams like the ones I mentioned above?
After a solid opening, which oddly breaks the usual formalities of other screen-life flicks by being shot like a traditional horror film, the film takes us into the computer screen of our main character Katy (Kara Royster) where we meet the rest of our central characters. Jacob and Becca the couple attached at the hip (played by Jack Griffo and Ashley Argota Torres respectively), Adam the group comic relief (played by Luke Benward), the sassy but well meaning Annie (played by Ariel Winter) and the group tech expert Brian (played by Khylin Rambo). The central cast is rounded out by Sam (played by Brielle Barbusca), who is brought into the groups zoom call to celebrate her birthday during the 2020 lockdown. The cast all do a good job at their roles, their on screen chemistry actually makes them feel like a genuine group of friends, and their banter definitely helps with that.
Some standout performances for me were Ashley Argota Torres as Becca who was the forefront of a particularly creepy scene. I also enjoyed the performance and journey of Luke Benward as Adam who surprisingly redeems himself throughout the film, going from an annoying comic relief to a heroic badass by the films third act. Also enjoyable was lead actress Kara Royster's performance as Katy, who helms practically the whole film jumping from emotion to emotion.
The film's pacing was one of the few drawbacks for me, in the vein of it being a realistic zoom call with longtime friends, the first act drags a bit long for my taste, this would work if the characters had some deeper story or depth behind them, but the majority of their dialogue before the films inciting incident was playful banter and filler dialogue, with only two real important pieces for the storyline being set up it also had a noticeably fast paced editing style, which ran counter to the dull slowness. The rest of the film however is a different story, it takes the tensity of a film like Searching and crosses it with the underlying sinister feeling of something Unfriended: Dark Web, eventually coming to a boiling point with tensity so palpable you can feel it through the screen.
The majority of the second act had some of the creepiest moments in the film. The eerie moments and set ups to sequences that feel almost slasher-like. The characters all coming face to face with danger and their struggle made even more skewed by the POV of their smart phone. It was moments like these that set the film apart from other screenlife horror flicks, using traditional horror film set ups and ideas but adapting them through the lens of a computer or phone screen. The third act then revs up even further, turning into a full on manhunt for a serial killer, I had mentioned awhile back on social media that with the new screen-life sub-genre we've hardly seen any screen-life slashers come out, with the exception of Joe Keery's character from Spree. While this film is a bit too stingy with the kills and blood to call it a slasher, there's a handful of moments in here that scratched that itch, at least a bit.
The film's ending arrives, and while I feel it sacrificed a bit of tensity and momentum it could've chewed on longer, the ending was a nice wrap up to the story. The credits also included a fun little reel of bloopers and outtakes, something you hardly ever see from films anymore, a lost art that was most definitely appreciated.
Overall, Brandon and Garret Baers joint collaboration on Don't Log Off was a clear labor of love, crafting a story and shooting it remotely during quarantine looks to be no easy task, yet it comes out the other end a thrilling entry to the ever-growing sub-genre of screen-life. While it leans more into the thriller or mystery territory rather than full on horror, it still has a handful of genuinely creepy moments that I feel are worth checking out for horror fans.
Don't Log Off will be in limited theaters on July 11th and will be available on VOD July 15h.
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