Don’t Log Off could have been good, but it’s a movie that plays it way too safe.
Synopsis
When birthday girl Sam goes missing during her virtual surprise party, her friends try to figure out why she vanished. Using calls, texts and social media, they retrace her steps, until one by one, they fail to return from visits to her apartment.
My Thoughts
Don’t Log Off is another screenlife film set in the COVID-19 pandemic era, following in the footsteps of films like Host, just no-where near as good, or really that good at all.
The film is quite boring, and despite being marketed as a horror, it’s more of a thriller, only without any thrills.
The main problem is the film doesn’t really do much with the premise it sets up. It has all the pieces for a tense story, someone disappears during a video call, the rest of the group tries to figure out what happenens, but it never follows through in any meaningful way.
It just kind of drifts. There’s a lot of talking, a lot of switching between chat windows, and not a lot else.
The film is set during early lockdown as mentioned, and that vibe works fine. The energy in the group feels familiar to how everyone felt at the time. Everyone’s putting on a version of themselves, trying to keep things light, trying not to be the one who brings the mood down.
But once the disappearance happens, it never really kicks into gear. The urgency never builds. The characters react, but not in a way that feels urgent or especially believable.
They start speculating, messaging each other, asking around, but there’s no real drive behind it. The stakes stay low, the tension doesn’t rise, and it feels like they’re just waiting for the mystery to solve itself.
The whole group dynamic is just underdeveloped. You’re told they’re close, but you don’t feel it. They mostly just fall into roles and stay there, and give you no reason to care.
It also has the same pacing and the same energy all the way through. Even when something important happens, the film reacts to it the same way it reacts to small talk.
There are some moments where it seems like it might go somewhere but nothing really lands. The few clues they find don’t add much, and there’s no real sense of discovery. It’s a lot of setup without payoff.
When the film gets to its ending, it doesn’t feel earned, and I didn’t really care by that point anyway. Nothing had really built up. It just sort of ends, and it’s not frustrating so much as underwhelming.
The story just doesn’t any take risks, and the suspense never finds a rhythm, mainly because we don’t really get any. It plays everything safe, and as a result, it just fades into the background.
It’s just a bunch of people on a call, reacting to things that should matter more than they do.
I didn’t hate the film though, but it was just meh and dull. The bones of something good is here, it just needed a better script to shine.
Don’t Log Off Trailer
Don’t Log Off on IMDB
Good Points
Pandemic Setting – The film captures the mood of early lockdown without over-explaining it.
Technical Quality – For a screen-based film, it’s visually clear, the sound is balanced, and it doesn’t feel too clunky.
Bad Points
Lack of Tension – The film never really builds suspense. Even with a missing person, the energy stays flat.
Pacing Issues – The middle in particular sags under slow conversations and side chats that don’t move the plot forward. By this point, it really should.
Wasted Potential in the Mystery – Clues are introduced but not explored in interesting ways. It’s all very surface level.
Too Safe, Too Familiar – It plays everything cautiously. Just a straight line from beginning to end.
Is Don’t Log Off Worth Watching?
While I found it quite dull, I still wouldn’t say it’s definitely not worth a watch for fans of screenlife movies, especially if you haven’t seen many of them before.
I just wish it hadn’t played it as safe as they did. It just needed a better script.
Where To Watch
Director and Cast
Directors – Garrett Baer, Brandon Baer.
Main Cast – Ariel Winter, Brielle Barbusca, Sterling Beaumon, Luke Benward, Jack Griffo, Khylin Rhambo, Kara Royster, Ashley Argota Torres, and Nick Lehmann
Found Footage Horror Movies 
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