'Unfriended' Star Heather Sossaman Talks Cyberbullying and How Filmmakers Pulled Off Haunted Skype Call

Looking for a good scare this week? After the success of indie horror hit “It Follows” comes another very scary teen horror movie, “Unfriended.” The premise of a haunting through a Skype call may look terribly gimmicky to some, but viewers will surely jump and be rattled by the mundane computer errors that were the first signs that something foul was afoot.

Laura Barnes (Heather Sossaman) was a high school senior who took her own life after an embarrassing video of her at a party went viral. Her classmates are to blame, although they swear it was all just a prank gone too far. Laura returns for revenge through an innocuous Skype call from the grave that kills off the perpetrators one by one.

Sossaman spoke with International Business Times about her role, bullying and what makes “Unfriended” one of the unlikeliest horror films to haunt you. The actress shared (via Skype call, of course) what got her interested in the movie. “I never even heard of anything like that.” Sossaman even auditioned for the part with the director and producer over Skype.

She was even impressed by how authentic the desktop “set” looked and the film’s use of social media. “You see Blair [co-star Shelley Hennig] typing and deleting things. You almost laugh a little bit when you see Blair typing because you’re like ‘That’s how I type! She reads it and rethinks it.’”

Sossaman also revealed that the actors were all sitting in different rooms of the same house while cameras filmed the action. Sadly, it wasn’t all done through the magic of Skype, but the filmmakers used a variety of tools to achieve the lo-res look. “There were scenes I shot outside where Shelly was holding a little camera strapped to a phone, and that’s what they used in the movie.”

“I think what’s unique about the movie that it shows anyone can have access to the Internet, teenagers and kids too. As a teenager, I know sometimes you don’t understand the consequences of what you’re doing. Laura isn’t the first person on the planet to make these bad decisions, but these days since everything is filmed on phones, it’s really scary. Once it’s on the Internet, there’s nothing you can do.”

Sossaman said the most impressive part about “Unfriended” is how it depicts the idea that anyone can be a bully. “Sometimes you don’t think you’re a bully. Sometimes good kids make bad decisions. They don’t realize how much they can hurt.”

“Unfriended” opens nationwide Friday. Check out the trailer below: