When the Screen Becomes a Weapon: The Psychological Horror of Unknown Number

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish feels like something straight out of a thriller script, except it’s real, which makes it even more disturbing.

Released on August 29, 2025, the Netflix documentary delves into a case of cyberbullying and digital manipulation that shook a high school community in the United States. Directed by Skye Borgman, known for Girl in the Picture and Abducted in Plain Sight, the 94-minute film maintains her signature style: a blend of gripping testimonies, dramatic reenactments, and a constant sense of paranoia.

Produced by Ross M. Dinerstein and Rebecca Evans, the film features cinematography by Bryan Gosline, editing by Hans Ole Eicker, and an intense, atmospheric score by Ian Hultquist that deepens the feeling of unease. Filmed in the United States and presented in English, Unknown Number carries a 16+ rating for its sensitive themes such as harassment, emotional blackmail, and online exposure.

More than a simple true-crime story, the documentary reveals the psychological impact of hyperconnectivity and how technology, when stripped of empathy, can become an instrument of terror. It is a story about the destructive power of words typed on a screen and how online life mirrors reality until the two become indistinguishable.

Official Trailer

Inside the School and the Cell Phones

Viewers are taken into a seemingly ordinary American high school until a series of anonymous messages begins to spread chaos among students and families. The case centers on a teenage girl who starts receiving abusive and threatening texts from an unknown number, a situation that quickly turns into a collective nightmare. The documentary follows the investigation led by authorities and examines the psychological impact of digital harassment, showing how fear and suspicion slowly destroy trust within the school community.

Skye Borgman stands out for the way she weaves together real interviews, archival footage, and dramatic reconstructions. She builds a relentless sense of tension, where every new revelation increases both unease and helplessness in the face of online violence. The documentary avoids the typical sensationalism of the genre and instead focuses on the complexity of the case, revealing that the real danger is not always somewhere distant on the internet but often much closer than expected.

Throughout the story, Unknown Number: The High School Catfish questions not only who is behind the messages but also what such behavior says about the digital era. It raises important discussions about privacy, exposure, and how easily the internet magnifies bullying, turning teenagers into public targets of humiliation.

Rather than just seeking someone to blame, the film highlights the urgent need to understand the emotional weight of online interactions and how anonymity can become a weapon when empathy disappears.

A Psychological Reflection (with Spoilers)

In a shocking twist, the anonymous messages were sent by Kendra Licari, the mother of Lauryn. Investigators, supported by federal resources, traced the texts through digital records and clues left by number-masking apps. Kendra confessed, was arrested in December 2022, pled guilty in 2023, and received a sentence reported to range from 19 months to 5 years, later being released on probation.

From a psychological perspective, the documentary and its featured experts describe a pattern combining control, attention-seeking, and trauma reenactment, a sort of “digital Munchausen” behavior in which someone creates crises to attract care and attention. Kendra said she started sending messages to “catch” the person behind the harassment but ended up caught in a spiral she could not escape. The film uses her story to explore how trauma and emotional needs can manifest in manipulative behaviors amplified by technology.

On a social level, the case serves as a warning. Anonymity and masking apps can turn pathological impulses into widespread harm, and only digital forensics and law enforcement vigilance managed to stop the escalation.

The documentary reinforces Borgman’s call for open communication between parents and children, stronger digital literacy, and better mental health support. It is not just a solved mystery but a stark reminder of how technology and neglect can amplify psychological suffering that requires clinical attention.

In the end, Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is not just about a digital crime but about the kind of person who turns love into a tool of control. Kendra Licari appears less confused and more like a cold strategist. There is no remorse, only the embarrassment of being exposed. Her so-called madness feels like calculated cruelty, the mindset of someone who manipulates because she can, not because she is broken.

Her daughter seems trapped in a cycle of emotional dependence that could be a case study in itself. There is something both tragic and disturbing in how she still tries to justify the unjustifiable, as if their bond were a prison disguised as affection. It is a cruel portrayal of how abuse can masquerade as protection and how the human mind can romanticize its own tormentor when love and fear become intertwined.

Is Unknown Number Worth Watching?

In my opinion, yes!

Especially for viewers who enjoy psychological and true-crime documentaries that challenge the notion of “obvious monsters.”

Here, evil wears the face of a mother and speaks in a calm voice. And perhaps that is the greatest shock: realizing that danger does not always hide in the unknown corners of the internet but within relationships that seem safe while slowly corroding from within.

See you in the next article!