| Laura Barns | |
|---|---|
| |
| Laura Barns | |
Information
| |
| Status | Immortal (As Malevolent Spirit/possible Demon) |
| Age | 17 |
| Species | Human (1996-2013)
Malevolent Spirit/Demon (2013-present) |
| Hometown | Fresno, California |
| Date of Death | April 12, 2013 (aged 17) |
| Cause of Death | Suicide (Shot herself in the head) |
Laura Barns (January 4, 1996 - April 8, 2013) is the main antagonist of the film Unfriended. She was a high school student who committed suicide by shooting herself in the head on April 8, 2013, after an embarrassing video was posted online by her friends. She returns for revenge as a malevolent spirit or possibly a demon one year later.
She is portrayed by Heather Sossaman.
Biography
Laura Barns was born on January 4, 1996 in Fresno, California. She was a nerd among her classmates, and was a victim of sex-bullying which led her to committing suicide on April 8, 2013 after an embarrassing sex video was taken of her being drunk, possibly sexually assaulted (a teen boy is seen hugging her on what looks like a bed with only the finest of silk sheets) and eventually passing out, defecating herself beforehand. An anonymous person posted that video to YouTube soon after.
After unfortunately ending her life, her suicide went viral, with stories across the news and several websites documenting the story, most prominently Liveleak, which had a video of her suicide. Her Facebook memorial page was also famous, having over 80 likes during the events of the film. Before her suicide, she had a Skype account named billie227, which she femininely named after her twin brother, Billy Barns. It has also been implied (but never confirmed) that Laura was sexually harassed and molested by her uncle.
Although she has a seemingly nice and charming personality, Laura is seen taunting Val at a party and Ken later states that she was a bully who deserved what she got, a comment others such as Mitch agreed with. Laura also posted a hate-video where she holds up messages to her bullies, insulting them. As a demon she is completely morbid and merciless; leading to her killing off her former friends in extremely violent and gruesome ways, often with slow, excruciatingly painful results.
Before the events of Unfriended, it is known she was best friends with Blaire Lily since childhood.
Appearances
Unfriended
On April 8, 2014, exactly one year after she commits suicide, she logs onto her Skype and Facebook as a demon and begins tormenting her former friends, forcing Blaire, Mitch, Ken, Adam and Jess into a Skype chat (with Blaire inviting Val into the chat later on). At first, the attacks are mild by just sending Skype messages on somebody's behalf, and posting pictures of Val being drunk and smoking a marijuana bong; her friends at first assume her presence in the Skype chat to be nothing more than a glitch, until, in Val's words, "the glitch just typed", revealing her presence. The attacks progressively get worse and eventually she kills her first target. After Val calls 911 after Laura sends a threat or screen grab that implicates Val in Laura's suicide, she forces her to drink bleach. Val's mirror is also broken, implying Laura may also have forced her to cut herself with broken pieces of the mirror; Val's death is concluded to be a suicide by police.
Laura tells the others that she wishes to play a game. Shortly after, Ken gets everyone to mute their microphones (which Laura is able to turn back on moments later) and takes advantage of the situation by sending a Trojan Anti-Virus program to "uninstall Laura". Finally after everyone deletes their files, she is banished from the group chat. However, she comes back after Adam attempts to call 911 for help, before killing Ken by forcing him to destroy his arm and neck with his own blender. It is unknown as to whether this was because Laura had a grudge against Ken and/or if it was purely because of Ken's computer skills posing a threat to her scheme.
She then slowly and morbidly kills off the others, one by one, taunting and tormenting them, while also destroying their friendships beforehand with a game of Never Have I Ever, with the added difference that the losers die instead of taking a drink.
At the end of the film, when it is revealed that Blaire was the one that filmed the video that caused her to commit suicide, she reveals this new information on her Facebook account, with people posting comments that Blaire is responsible for her death. Laura's final words in the film is that she wishes she could forgive Blaire for what she did and she then logs off of Skype. Blaire sits in front of her laptop, horrified by what has happened, until her bedroom door suddenly creaks open, after which her laptop is violently closed before she is then attacked and presumably killed by a demonic looking Laura.
Abilities
As a malevolent spirit/demon, Laura was able to manipulate electrical/electronic devices in a variety of ways, such as sending messages from other's people social media accounts and turning on and off lights and microphones despite never being seen anywhere near the vicinity. She could also take control of people's bodies, allowing her to force others to hurt and/or kill themselves while they could only watch and feel the pain of her actions.
While it is never confirmed as to how she knew many of the facts she forced to surface or how she obtained the video of Blaire filming the video that led to Laura's suicide, it's possible that as a spirit/demon she had the ability to go back and forth in time and witness these events. This would be supported by how unlikely it would be for someone to film/witness Blaire filming the video and staying quiet after Laura's suicide.
Trivia
- Her death is very similar to the suicide of Audrie Pott:
- Both were humiliated across the globe because of photos and a video that had spread across social media showing them in an intoxicated state.
- Both were harassed and mocked by her best friends.
- Both events and suicides happened in California.
- Both were very popular at their respective schools.
- Her mother's name is Michelle.
- All of Laura's kills involve using the main characters's personal attachments as a form of irony:
- Val was revealed to be a stoner; she is killed by being forced to drink bleach.
- Ken constantly brags about his new blender to his friends. Later, both his right arm and throat were both forcefully shoved into the blender.
- Adam was an alcoholic, and loved guns. He carried his father's revolver and would carelessly fling it around. He is later forced to shoot himself in the head with it. Interestingly enough, Laura killed herself in the same way (Although she chose to commit suicide, contrary to Adam).
- Jess was obsessed with her hair and its appearance. She is killed by choking on a scolding hot curling iron.
- Mitch liked to use his hunting knife to roleplay as he and Blaire have cyber sex. Later, he is forced to shove the knife deep into his eye.
- Blaire was obsessed with keeping her good girl image and hiding her dark secrets. Her good girl image is destroyed and her dark secrets are revealed to the public forever.
- It is implied that Laura went to Hell after she died. She possesses several demon-like abilities, and also says things like "You wouldn't like it here, Val" after Val threatens to find her and beat her up. Laura was also a Jewish Catholic, and the Jewish Catholic Church has the belief that those who commit suicide are sent to Hell.
- Her zodiac sign is Capricorn.