Unsubscribe (film)
| Unsubscribe | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Christian Nilsson[3] |
| Screenplay by | Christian Nilsson[3] |
| Produced by | Xianssen[4] |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Hugo Lopez[4] |
Production company | TXE[4] |
Running time | 29 minutes[8] |
| Country | United States[1][2] |
| Budget | $0[5] |
Unsubscribe is a 2020 film created by actor and YouTuber Eric Tabach and filmmaker Christian Nilsson.[9] Starring Charlie Tahan and YouTuber Michelle Khare,[5] with Nilsson also featuring in the film alongside YouTubers Thomas Brag and Zach Kornfeld,[10] the 29-minute film[8] follows five famous YouTubers who are tricked into joining an online call, only to find themselves stalked and hunted by an internet troll on camera.[7][5]
The film gained international publicity for gaining a #1 spot in worldwide theaters and earning $25,488 USD on a $0 budget.[3][11][12] The title and amount of money was gained via a technique known as "four-walling", which allows filmmakers who rent out a whole theater to gain all of the profits from that movie, something only considered lucrative during the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Plot
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: a full plot summary beyond just a one-sentence overview. You can help by adding to it. (August 2020) |
Five YouTubers conduct a video-call[5] for their friend's birthday,[4] but begin to be stalked by an enigmatic member of the call.[5][3][1]
Cast
- Eric Tabach as Eric[6]
- Michelle Khare as Michelle[6]
- Sneako as Sneako[6]
- Tyler Brash as Tyler[6]
- Zach Kornfeld as Zach[6]
- Thomas Brag as Thomas[6]
- Lauren Brodauf as Lauren[6]
- Charlie Tahan as Whitey[6][4]
- Garrett Kennell as Assassin[6]
Reception
Reception to the film was mixed. Though critical reception of the film's content was mostly negative,[13] the film garnered mostly positive reviews for its creation process and ability to gain high rankings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Washington Post praised the film as "a testament to artistic ingenuity under lockdown",[7] while NME called the film an "entertaining hoax", and Fox News opined that "garnering a No. 1 release – albeit short-lived since 'Unsubscribe' failed to throw off weekend box office numbers – is a stout accomplishment in itself". Other sources were more ambivalent, such as Decider, which stated that "[w]hether this stunt is a stroke of brilliance or a stroke of shameless self-promotion is up to you", while Trillmag said that "Unsubscribe's status as a historical filmmaking achievement is indicated by the unorthodox (and deviously scheming) method through which it achieved box office success".
References
- ^ a b c "$0 Budget Movie 'Unsubscribe' Tops U.S. Box Office - Trill! Magazine". Trill! Magazine. 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ a b "$0 budget film 'Unsubscribe' tops Box office". Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ a b c d "Their film played for 1 day at 1 LI theater — and became the No. 1 movie in America". Newsday. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ a b c d e f "Unsubscribe - Trailer 2020 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g Nevett, Joshua (2020-06-19). "How a $0-budget movie 'topped the US box office'". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Unsubscribe, retrieved 2020-08-07
- ^ a b c d Elfrink, Tim (June 18, 2020). "Want to top the box office during a pandemic? Film for free on Zoom and then rent out a theater". The Washington Post.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b All citations that can be found, such as these ones,[2][7] cite the film's length at 29 minutes.
- ^ Young, Julius (2020-06-19). "'Unsubscribe' is a $0-budget movie that cleverly 'topped the US box office'". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ "These YouTubers Had the No. 1 Film in America Thanks to a Pandemic Loophole". Decider. 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ "Box office busted: a short history of Hollywood's greatest ever hoaxes". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ "'Unsubscribe': $0-budget film made by pranksters tops US box office | NME". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
- ^ Actual reviews of the film's content are few, but those that can be found are largely negative; for example, Trillmag, which called the plot "sub-standard".[1]