Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
Directed by Skye Borgman6.785%68%6.8
A teen girl and her boyfriend face persistent harassment from an unknown caller. Police investigating the months of torment discover a revelation that upends their initial assumptions.
Where to Watch Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish Ratings & Reviews
- BlairSeptember 8, 2025Brilliant and also wtf. Had me guessing the whole time.
- Monkey See! Monkey Review!!September 7, 2025Netflix has added another compelling entry to its documentary lineup with Unknown Number: The Highschool Catfish. TLDR -> It’s definitely worth a watch—gripping, frustrating, and at times downright maddening. The real-life events and the film itself drag on longer than necessary, and honestly, I couldn’t help but think: this could’ve been resolved on day one. If my family were involved, there wouldn’t be a documentary—just a swift, decisive end to the chaos. What this story really highlights is a glaring issue: parental oversight in the digital age. It should be a wake-up call—loud and clear—for parents to take a more active role in managing their children’s devices. Let’s be real: middle schoolers have no business on platforms like Instagram or TikTok. These spaces are designed for adults and require a level of maturity and digital literacy that kids simply don’t have yet. I know that stance won’t win popularity contests, but this isn’t about preaching—it’s about protecting. Throughout the film, you’ll likely find yourself infuriated by the parents’ choices—or lack thereof. Their failure to enforce a no-phone, no-social-media policy after things spiraled is baffling. Phones and online presence aren’t birthrights—they’re privileges. And they should be treated as such, with boundaries and accountability. In the end, Unknown Number is absolutely watchable. But more importantly, I hope it serves as a lesson. If nothing else, let it spark real conversations about digital responsibility, parental involvement, and the consequences of unchecked access.
- CarbonDJNovember 3, 2025Won't watch again, but I couldn't turn it off either. Jeez. Kept you guessing, and the result was a shocker. Some people are scum and shouldn't be forgiven. Some people don't know any better, and that's kinda sad.
- DrinelsonOctober 4, 2025Absolutely flabbergasted! This story was insane!!!! I can’t say much more without spoiling it but this is a must watch… even if you knew about this story beforehand.
- NiztradamusSeptember 28, 2025It starts off making you wonder why you are even watching this. It all just seems like typical teenage drama but the more extreme edges of that spectrum. I am an adult. While I can sympathize, I don't care for teenage drama. Had enough of it when I was a teen 15-20 years ago. But then... Then it turns out to be something much, much worse than teenage drama.
- Tiffani ScienceSeptember 16, 2025Definitely was not what I was expecting, crazy!
- Kevin WertzSeptember 6, 2025Very interesting and kind of unbelievable who ended up being the one that causes all this destruction without a clear reason as to why.
- Lucas LeCompteSeptember 8, 2025If you watch a lot of true crime shows, you will find this boring. If you don't watch anything like this you might like it. If you watch a lot of true crime you will figure it out fast.
- LivewireAdminSeptember 7, 2025There’s a taut, unsettling pulse to this documentary: the typing bubbles, the clipped late-night voice notes, the cascading screenshots of texts that start somewhat tame and curdle into manipulation. Just like I'm sure many others out there, my TikTok algorithm really wanted me to watch this one. As a formal exercise, it’s sharp—cleanly edited and empathetic to the kids and families who got swept up in a lie that metastasized. The film is at its best when it slows down and lets victims narrate the incremental boundary-pushing that makes catfishing so insidious; you can feel the dread accumulate scene by scene. But I left frustrated—and not just by the story’s ugliness. Like too many modern true-crime docs, this one soft-pedals the confrontation that matters most. The perpetrator appears just enough to give the film an air of balance, then seems wrapped in bubble-wrap: carefully framed, lightly challenged, seldom pressed. You can sense the calculus—if the filmmakers push harder, access evaporates—but trading accountability for access leaves a hollow center. The crucial follow-ups never come. Why these targets? How did they rationalize the harm? What specific lies were crafted to breach trust? When answers hedge, there’s no real pushback; when responsibility is deflected, the filmmakers feed excuses instead of digging in. I’m not asking for cruelty or gotcha theatrics, but for principled, probing questions—the kind that clarify intent, establish patterns, and honor the people who were hurt by insisting on clarity. A stronger third act would have laid out the specific legal consequences and examined platform responsibility with specificity. As is, the movie vividly re-creates the harm while letting the harm-doer glide past the hardest truths. When the "twist" in the doc comes into focus, it becomes pretty clear that the filmmakers were more interested in telling a story over probing for motives. Still, the craft is assured, the pacing lean, and the survivors’ voices are presented with care. It’s an effective conversation starter about online vulnerability in high school and elsewhere—just not the accountability document it could (and should) be.
- Josh CSeptember 3, 2025Wow! That’s all I got; wow!
- Kevin WardSeptember 5, 2025Genuinely unbelievable where this ended. Completely despicable.
- Oʂɯαʅԃσ RσყҽƚƚSeptember 6, 2025The twist at the end was quite something. The person concerned should never be allowed near another in her lifetime, so wicked and evil are their deeds.
- cultfilmlikerSeptember 6, 2025Say it with me: ALL COPS ARE BA- What a fucking psycho, but you gotta admit, it takes a high level of ignorance / pure idiocy for this community to have not figured this out sooner, which leads fo lesson two: STRONG COMMUNITIES MAKE POLICE PRESENCE OBSOLETE
- John ChapelSeptember 2, 2025Extremely good doc. Loses 1 star for not really hammering harder on the eventual villain of this story. Can't say much as crime docs are the modern WHODUNITs but you will end this movie PISSED. Have patience with the first 10 minutes: It stops being about typical teen drama very quickly.
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish Trivia
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish was released on August 29, 2025.
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish was directed by Skye Borgman.
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish has a runtime of 1h 34m.
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish was produced by Ross M. Dinerstein, Rebecca Evans.
A teen girl and her boyfriend face persistent harassment from an unknown caller. Police investigating the months of torment discover a revelation that upends their initial assumptions.
The key characters in Unknown Number: The High School Catfish are Self (Lauryn Licari), Self (Owen McKenny), Self (Sophie Weber).
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is rated R.
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is a Documentary, Crime film.
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish has an audience rating of 6.8 out of 10.