Friend Request
Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: September 22, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
31
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
7
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshSep 21, 2017
It's the highest praise to describe Friend Request as "a hoot" — the kind of midnight movie best seen with a large crowd laughing and screaming along, offering words of advice or encouragement to the naive characters on screen. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonKate LloydSep 20, 2017
Social media has never been so scary. Read full review
60
EmpireAlly WybrewSep 20, 2017
Friend Request keeps up the pace and throws in a few neat twists to keep the plot from stagnating. Read full review
60
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoDec 7, 2016
Obvious and sometimes aggravating no doubt, but still effective in raising blood pressure given a backstory so instilled with old-school cultism. Read full review
50
IndieWireJamie RighettiSep 21, 2017
Friend Request packs some fun scares and twists, but it’s a film best saved for a late-night Netflix binge when nothing better is on. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckSep 22, 2017
Although visually stylish and imaginative — the short bits of animation on display wouldn’t be out of place in a Tim Burton film — Friend Request gets less interesting the more it goes on. Read full review
40
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 20, 2017
It’s slickly made but shoddily scripted, with sub-reality TV dialogue...and a range of unengaged, soapy performances. There is some fun to be had from the loud and nasty death scenes though, which allow us the pleasure of seeing self-absorbed Facebook addicts get gruesomely murdered. Read full review
40
Total FilmSarah DobbsDec 7, 2016
CGI wasps and coloured contact lenses aren’t as terrifying as director Simon Verhoeven seems to think, and all the loud bangs in the world can’t hide the lack of tension. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comMark DujsikSep 23, 2017
When she least expects it, the face of the cat transforms into a monstrous one, with sharp, pointy teeth and a roar. Yes, this is going to be one of those horror movies. Read full review
38
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldSep 21, 2017
Sadly, Friend Request is not even the first movie to travel that harrowing Dead Girl Who Still Maintains an Active Facebook Presence road. Read full review
37
Washington PostPat PaduaSep 21, 2017
Despite a few well-timed jump scares, Friend Request never really builds much tension. Read full review
30
VarietyJessica KiangSep 22, 2017
We might lament declining attention spans in general, but more chilling than anything in Friend Request is the idea that anyone’s whole attention could possibly be absorbed by so flimsy and forgettable a film, one that seems made with the sole aim of being perfectly adequate background noise for something else. Read full review
25
IGNWilliam BibbianiSep 22, 2017
It’s a sincere, and sincerely inept motion picture, and that combination makes Friend Request the exact opposite of scary. It makes it unintentionally hilarious. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Sep 22, 2017
There’s nothing remotely clever about this web-based fright flick, visually or conceptually. It’s flimsy genre junk of the most generic variety, just with a really groan-worthy Facebook spin. Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 21, 2017
With no real suspense and little empathy, Friend Request devolves into your standard horror cast-killer time-killer. There are more frights in the trailers for upcoming Halloween horror films preceding this — “Jigsaw” and “Happy Death Day” among them. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineChuck BowenSep 20, 2017
The viewer anticipates satire from such a sociologically loaded premise, but director Simon Verhoeven and co-writers Matthew Ballen and Philip Koch predictably utilize Facebook for the purpose of superficially spit-shining another wanly Americanized J-horror retread. Read full review
11
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiSep 27, 2017
The whole thing reeks of a spooky Halloween episode of Law & Order that will have your parents shaking their heads in acknowledgment, and you dear reader, shaking your head in disbelief. Read full review
5
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeSep 22, 2017
An utterly idiotic movie that uses social media as a conduit for witchcraft and mayhem. Read full review
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