Countdown

Great times when a movie completely surprises you by being good. PG 13 horror movies tend to be mediocre but #Countdown was really good. A bit more to the plot than the trailers implied. Witty (snarky) dialogue and a great group of unknowns, with two great veterans dropped into the mix, Tichina Arnold and Peter Facinelli, whom I didn't even know were in the film. As a teen movie, everyone is gorgeous *eye candy* but the twist in the movie gave it more depth than anticipated. Two peripheral characters added an unexpected comic appeal for a "horror" movie. I think the Happy Death Day franchise has spun off a new genre "com-horror" maybe? Anyway, on a regular movie scale this is maybe a 7? but for the PG 13 horror rankings, a solid 9. Great date movie, as there is no nudity, or a movie to see with a group of friends for laughs and jump scares.

What I liked:

• interesting, original concept that feels strangely applicable to our modern society. Let's be honest: if we could really download an app like this, most people would.
• decent acting.
• surprisingly likeable and intelligent main character, which is kind of refreshing in this genre.
• not particularly scary to me but probably pretty creepy to someone who scares easily. Which is a good thing.
• no inconsistencies or plot holes I could find.

What I didn't like:

• unnecessary romance is unnecessary.
• the comic relief priest.
• the weird sexual harassment subplot. I feel like they could've done without.
• bit predictable at times, clichés throughout.
• a couple of dumb jump scares.

Overall not a terrible experience. Probably don't care to watch it again but if you're in the mood for a fun horror flick this'll do just fine.

Countdown (3 out of 5 stars).

Countdown is a decent supernatural horror film that takes an interesting spin with the modern technology and death. Kind of reminds me of Final Destination on how death goes after the people who are suppose to be dead. Countdown adds the interesting spin of a countdown death app. Which people can download on their smart phones to see how long they would have to live. Some will live 80 or so years. While some will only have a day or two. When the countdown is up, some ghostly or death looking figure chases them down and kills them.

The plot follows nurse Quinn (Elizabeth Lail) who downloaded the app. Only to find out, she has two days to live. Thinking it is some stupid app. She reads about it after a couple of teenagers have been reported dead after using the app. She starts experiencing supernatural delusions with some death figure that's watching her. She is trying to break the curse to stop the countdown and escape from this supernatural figure.

The plot is decent. The plot messes with the idea that every character has a certain fate. And the countdown changes it to a different course. Either someone was suppose to be killed in an car accident but they avoided getting in the car. Which they will die in a different fate. Quinn is still struggling about loss within the family. Which her and her sister Jordan (Talitha Bateman) are in a struggling family drama. Quinn gets company who is facing the same conflict with the app, Matt (Jordan Calloway) who joins her in trying to break this curse.

The direction does have a few creepy moments like being followed by some shadow figure. Or some jump at the screen scares. I did not find the movie to be at all scary. It was entertaining and thrilling but lacking the scares.

The cast ensemble was okay as well. Elizabeth Lail gave it her best as a struggling nurse. After being threatened with her job cause the Doctor played by Peter Facinelli is upset that she does not want to sleep with him. So he filed a complaint about harassment against her. Jordan Calloway and Talitha Bateman were both okay as their characters. P.J. Byrne playing Father John was cheesy as the character. Who is trying to make the father character cool with his hip hop attitude and easily obsessed with the supernatural world.

Overall, Countdown is an okay film. It is entertaining and thrilling. The plot is okay. The direction lacked scares and has the typical clichés for a horror film.

A Nurse downloads an app, which gives a real time countdown timer of the user's death. The app has a worrying success rate.

I've seen a few films where a killer app is used as the thrustt of the horror, none of them has been great in terms of production or acting, what this one lacks in terms of originality, it makes up for with quality. It's very nicely put together, the acting is of a high standard, the scares are good.

There is some real depth to the characters, they have a back story, and they have appeal. Elizabeth Lail is the real star of the show, Peter Facinelli is good, his character is a monster.

Don't expect it to be brilliant, it's not, but it's is good, 6/10.

Honestly I was in the mood to be spooked, and that's what this movie did. It's all about jump scares, so if that's not your thing then I wouldn't suggest this movie. But I don't know why this movie is getting all these bad scores. If you want to be scared by jump scares and have some laughs then I suggest this movie