Countdown (2019), a review.
So we have a horror for the modern age, not the first or the last in this genre. It opens up with several college students downloading an app that is supposed to tell you when you'll die. Most get years before their demise, but one young woman has only a few hours. This spook's her, but she seemingly shrugs it off. However, when getting in the car with her drunk boyfriend, the young woman is disturbed enough she wisely gets out. Why are people always so ready to drive whilst drunk in these films? Is it common in America? Anyway, they bicker before he drives off in a huff. At this point, her phone goes off, and the Countdown app states that she has broken the user agreement contract. Still disturbed, she walks on, but we see a figure behind her. Thankfully, they are just getting a lift, and she continues on. The phone goes off again, and more disturbed, she runs for her home, quickly unlocking the door and rushing within. Feeling safer now, she moves to ready herself for bed. Brushing her teeth, she hears something and is pulled upwards out of frame, screaming and sounds of pain loud before she drops down and cracks her head open on the bath, the countdown visible on her phone. The film switches then to the boyfriend, the car had crashed into a tree, and the seat she would have been in is impaled by a thick branch.
We meet Quinn, a nursing student, as she deals with Evan. Evan is the boyfriend of the young woman, Courtney, who died in the initial opening. He's freaking out because he also downloaded the app, and due to expire in nineteen hours. Quinn is sceptical, seeing it as only a game. Evan tells her of Courtney's death and how she had also downloaded the app, convinced that he is in danger. After returning Ethan to his room, we see her be congratulated on passing her nursing exam. During this celebration, the app is mentioned and downloaded. A colleague gets to live until they would be in their eighties while another their nineties. When Quinn downloads the app, it gives her only two days and a few hours to live. She is a little startled by this but brushes it off initially. We get some backstory on Quinn when she returns home, she has a younger sister, and it seems her mother has passed away. Her father invites her to put flowers on her mother's grave, and she agrees to go with them, leaving quickly after that. The film then moves back to Ethan, and his countdown continues. Shaken by this, he decides to miss his surgery, and the user agreement is broken. At this point, he sees something in the mirror behind him, but it is not there when he turns around. Upon returning his gaze to the mirror, the figure rushes forward and the mirror cracks. Scared now, Ethan runs for the stairs, the lights going out, and he sees Courtney, only it isn't her. Not Courtney rushes Ethan, his phone falls down the stairwell moments before he follows, and the countdown hits zero. Quinn learns of this and is shaken to the point that she decides not to go to her mother's grave, and her user agreement is broken. At this point, Dr Sullivan makes unwanted advances, almost forcing himself on her. Quinn is shaken by this and goes to report him, but he uses his position to call the senior nurse from her. Quinn begins to experience things, seeing Ethan in her room after she begins looking into the app and the countdown going off repeatedly. Things quickly escalate for Quinn as she searches for a way to free herself from this app. She meets Matt after changing her phone, and we learn that the same thing is happening to him.
The pair exchange their stories, seeking out the priest at the hospital in the vain hope of getting some advice or help. He cannot help them but gives them the details of someone that can. And they meet Father John, who is a strange and unique character. He is certainly not your typical priest. He tells them that such things exist, regaling them with a tale of two brothers and one's death when attempting to circumvent it, of forces that seek to bind them by contracts and then devour them. He says it would help if he could see the source code for the app and see what it actually is. Quinn has the idea to go to the shop where she bought her new phone, as the owner said he could crack it for her. He manages to, and they learn that some of the code is in Latin. Quinn takes a picture of the code, and Derek changes the code making it so that they will no longer die at their original times. Of course, this doesn't stick, and they are soon visited by the entity behind this. Rushing to Quinn's sister, they get to her and head straight for Father John. After seeing the code Father John tells them that it is a curse, that a demon is after them, but he can protect them. He does his best, but things inevitably go wrong, and Matt is lured out to his death. After this, Quinn decides to take things into her own hands, and a confrontation between Dr Sullivan, Quinn, and the entity unfolds. It appears that she succeeds, but at the film's ending, the app loads onto her phone with version 2.0.
The film is okay, having some decent jumpscares scattered throughout but never maintaining the tension. Which is a shame. The acting, whilst not groundbreaking, is decent enough. Dr Sullivan is suitably sleazy and charming in turn, and Quinn is believable as our lead. The demon is done well, though it doesn't feel quite menacing enough. I would have preferred some more backstory into the app, such as how it came to be etc. And more screen time for Father John wouldn't have hurt, either. I give this film a 7 out of 10. It is enjoyable but lacking in any real scares. Worth a watch for any horror fan.
