Based on a Buzzfeed viral thread, this strange horror film could be described as a modern day Aladdin meets Friend Request if you will.

Adam Ellis is a comic artist for Buzzfeed, and his content tends to draw the attention of internet trolls. When Adam confronts the trolls in a chat room, he comes across a mysterious user named “Dear David”, who offers him to ask two questions but not a third. However, undeterred by things, Adam goes ahead and asks a third questions. Soon enough, he slowly begins to pay the price by experiencing sleep paralysis.

When he begins to see strange things while in flux, he begins to apparently write about them in a series of tweets. The buzz goes well with his supervisor, who sees something in both Adam and the thread. However, under the surface, Adam begins to experience more than just the buzz as his relationships with his boyfriend and co-workers slowly unravel due to the presence causing trouble for him. Adam decides he must try to learn who “Dear David” is and why exactly they are trying to destroy him.

From director John McPhail comes this adaptation of a thread of tweets from now former Buzzfeed comic artist Adam Ellis and while it has the potential to bring some validity in its scares, the film is ultimately a mixed bag. There are a few things that could be explained here but it does get an A for effort in the long run.

In the introduction to said “Dear David”, it involves two internet trolls who couldn’t be much more than 16 or 17, doing the same thing Adam eventually does in a chat room. However, they are met with a fate much worse than what we see from Adam. In Adam’s case, it tends to play off as if the questioning is like the scene in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me where Will Ferrell can only answer the same question three times and that whole shtick but then adds a sense of Friend Request where our protagonist is haunted to the point where everything around him, especially his devices are mysteriously hacked into.

That doesn’t go to say it is all bad. One of the highlights of the film is that of Augustus Prew’s performance as the lead Adam. Knowing what he has to work with, Prew makes the most of his role bringing up the necessary emotional scares. It is clear that “David” is somewhat of a malevolent presence who was once a victim of cyberbullying and this could be his modus operandi for revenge but it still makes one wonder why kill two younger cyber bullies and yet mess with Adam? It never gets revealed in that aspect plus Justin Long’s sometimes over the top performance as Adam’s boss doesn’t help much either.

Dear David is an enjoyable one-time watch, but questions will be asked. However, it’s not a complete waste of time and had the potential, but it felt off. However, Augustus Prew’s performance saves it from being a total dud.

WFG RATING: C

Lionsgate presents a Buzzfeed Motion Pictures production in association with Rideback and CR8IV DNA. Director: John McPhail. Producers: Jason Moring, Michael Philip, Richard Alan Reid, Charlotte Walsh, and Naysun Alae-Carew. Writers: Mike van Waes; story by van Waes and Evan Turner; based on the tweets by Adam Ellis. Cinematography: Stephen Chandler Whitehead. Editing: David Arthur and Glenn Garland.

Cast: Augustus Prew, Andrea Bang, Justin Long, Rene Escorbar Jr., Tricia Black, Rachel Wilson, Cameron Nicoll, David Tompa, Rachel Risen, Seth Murchison.

The film will be released in select theaters, On Demand, and Digital on October 13.