Clickbait: Unfollowed (2024) Review – A Spiteful and Silly Influencer Slasher

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing Tubi’s latest horror offering Clickbait: Unfollowed. This movie comes courtesy of Canadian writer, directors Katherine Barrell and Melanie Scrofano (Ready or Not) by way of South Africa. I almost feel guilty to admit it but I really enjoyed this movie. 

Yet another influencer horror

Every part of me feels as though I should have disliked it. I mean, it isn’t particularly well executed, it’s not exactly scary, the acting, outside of a few performances, is mediocre, and the tired and worn out influencer thing is beyond played out. But I really did have a good time with Clickbait: Unfollowed. It’s just silly, mindless, enjoyable horror fun and, sometimes, that is exactly what you are looking for.

“Every part of me feels as though I should have disliked it… But I really did have a good time with Clickbait: Unfollowed.”

We have covered this theme many many times on this site (shameless plug for our list of 15 influencer style horror movies). Influencer horror is absolutely everywhere. It is a theme that is frayed and thin from overuse. Still, it is a theme that resonates with people nowadays and it allows for a range of whacky and fun horror scenarios. Clickbait: Unfollowed is no exception.

The plot follows a group of social media influencers sharing a house together while competing for a grand prize in a competition to see who can gain the most followers. The only catch is that the losers have to worry about more than just simply being eliminated from the competition. It turns out there is a far more malicious, and violent, side to the game that the contestants had initially assumed.

Seen it all before

As far as the social media influencer theme goes, Clickbait: Unfollowed does absolutely nothing new. If you have seen one of these movies you have seen them all. Characters are introduced in typically over the top vlogger fashion. Personalities are plastic and spiteful and every single character is an overly familiar influencer caricature. We have the soccer mom with her son opening toys; the right-wing, money hungry, male; the fitness freak; the yoga guru; the James Charles style makeup artist. It’s all very familiar and presented in a manner that you will have, almost definitely, seen before.

In fact, the facsimile style presentation may lead you to check out of Clickbait pretty early on. In all honesty, it had me rolling my eyes almost instantly. There’s a certain, undeniable, cheapness to everything that belies some of this movie’s charms. Camera work is lacking, managing to be somewhere significantly below “made for TV” level. Acting is, at times, sub-par with the actor’s actual accents pushing through the poorly executed “middle of nowhere USA” veneers at every opportunity. The setting feels like a low-grade Airbnb “luxury” mansion and much of the set looks extremely plastic. 

But it somehow works

But, somewhere beneath all of that cheapness, Clickbait: Unfollowed manages to be genuinely enjoyable. This is simple, gory, sharp-tongued horror goodness that isn’t really asking for anyone’s approval. It is silly, performing with its tongue firmly planted in cheek throughout. It is often spiteful and in poor taste. Its characters are, generally, very unlikable and it never takes itself very seriously but it is just a lot of fun.

“The tacky, cheapness of the set and production actually ends up working well with the plastic veneer of social media influencers themselves.”

Set pieces are predictable but still humorous and entertaining. Some of the kills are hilarious. The various cronies doing the dirty work in the house conjure memories of the Minions in Despicable Me and make for some honestly funny visuals. Character interactions will make you chuckle and the movie does more than enough to stay interesting.

My partner and I both had a legitimately good time watching. It is weird. So much of this shouldn’t work but it just does. The tacky, cheapness of the set and production actually ends up working well with the plastic veneer of social media influencers themselves. The social commentary aspects don’t feel too on the nose and there are a few moments with some genuinely poignant messages. Not to mention some legitimately witty, if not ludicrously crass, one-liners scattered throughout. This is just a fun movie.

Go in with your expectations set

That’s the best advice I can give, here. Don’t go into Clickbait: Unfollowed expecting a masterpiece. Go into it expecting to have a good time. As mentioned above, many of the technical aspects don’t feel particularly great. Acting, outside of the frequently slipping accents, is probably the movie’s strongest point with the cast doing a convincing job of portraying the diverse cast of influencer stereotypes.

“If you are looking for a genuinely enjoyable horror comedy with a forked tongue and an unapologetically spiteful sense of humour, you could do a lot worse.”

I particularly enjoyed Roberto Kyle as Peach and Jessica Stanley as Julie, with both standing head and shoulders above their cast mates. It was also great to see directors Katherine Barrell and Melanie Scrofano making an appearance. Barrell, in particular, is tons of fun.

I felt the movie could have been around 10 minutes shorter, with it just missing that 80-minute sweet spot for me. Pacing is generally fine but it does drag its feet towards the end. It is forgivable, though, as you should be having a good enough time to not notice. As I said, don’t expect a seriously scary horror work of art. Expect a legitimately decent horror comedy with a lot of silliness and you will be in for a great time. 

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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