Movie: Unknown Number: The High School Catfish

Director: Skye?Borgman

Genre: True-Crime Documentary

Duration: 94 minutes

Now streaming on Netflix

I know that documentaries are not what you watch when you are looking for escapism, yet I could not help pressing play because I find catfishing fascinating. But Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, was even more intense than what I thought I was signing up for. These are the kind of things that make you feel like we should just all leave the Internet.

Set in a small town in the US, the film follows Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny, two teens tormented by more than 1,000 anonymous texts over 18 months.

The messages are cruel, explicitly graphic, and relentless. And just when you think it cannot get worse, it does. We often caution parents to protect their children from the dangers of the internet. Strangers, predators, cyberbullies, you get the drift. But this documentary flips that narrative on its head.

What happens when the danger is the parent? When the betrayal comes from the very person meant to keep you safe? Unknown Number unpacks the emotional wreckage that comes from such a conundrum. The heartbreak is not just in the harassment. It is in the betrayal, the suspicion cast on friends and classmates, and the town’s stunned disbelief. Watching Lauryn come to terms with the truth is as heartbreaking as it is nerve-racking.

This one does not exactly serve weekend vibes, I know. But sometimes, these are the stories we need to sit with. It is not easy breezy viewing, but it is unforgettable and mind-tickling. And if you have ever been tempted to say, “It is just online,” Unknown Number might just change your mind.

– Grace Kenganzi

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