Countdown

This horror film does a surprising amount right, despite the attacks that modern times are not only inflicting on entertainment arts and pop culture. The basic idea (minus the cellphones and apps) could also have originated in the 90s, the jump scares aren't over the top and feel appropriate, the brutality of modern exaggerations gives way to the classic approach of not showing too much, but certainly not too little. The balance that director Justin Dec finds and implements in this film is an increasingly unusual sight. The effects are well done, the supernatural is well staged and the humor relies on lovingly written supporting characters who shine with dialogues that you can hardly find anywhere in films these days.

The actors are all okay to good. Elizabeth Lail in particular plays her role of a rather shy but quite powerful woman very believably. Jordan Calloway is okay, if a bit pale, and Talitha Bateman is at times a little over-the-top in her role. Byrne and Segura show that they have a little more experience in the film business and are small highlights in their very comedic supporting roles. Facinelli also plays his role as a secondary antagonist appropriately, if not particularly multifaceted.

The film might open up one or two secondary storylines, but doesn't let them distract it from its path, instead integrating them for the most part appropriately into the main storyline. This is interesting with its intersection of religious horror and modern technology, which often proves to be quite real horror of its own kind. The quiet narrative style is impressive, the mixture of frightening scenes and a good horror staging, which can be found in quieter moments, the conveyed film feeling, which through cinematography, lighting and scenery seems like a journey through time to better times in film history and the short playing time, the one really good pacing favors such a storyline.

Director Dec's feature film debut comes as a bit of a surprise. Although this is not a film that can be found in the ranks of great films of the genre, it is definitely a nice popcorn cinema that is fun and shows on many levels what so many modern productions lack: passion for the genre, a feeling for atmosphere and the courage not to take yourself too seriously.

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

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.

In a teenage party, a group of friends download the app Countdown that predicts when the user will die. The teenager Courtney (Anne Winters) sees that she has just a couple of hours to live and does not accept the ride of her drunken boyfriend Evan (Dillon Lane). She walks home but she is killed by a supernatural creature when the timer in her cellphone reaches zero. Meanwhile Evan crashes his car at the same time of her death and he goes to a hospital where the nurse Quinn Harris (Elizabeth Lail) works. Evan discloses that he is afraid to go into surgery since the app Countdown predicts that he will die at the same time of the surgery. The doctors and nurses of the hospital decide to download the app and Quinn learns that she has only three days of life. When Evan mysterious dies in an accident at the hospital, Quinn buys a new cellphone and finds that the app is also installed. When she meets Matt Monroe (Jordan Calloway) at the parking lot of the store, she learns that his death is predicted for a couple of hours before her and they team-up to look for a means to break the curse.

"Countdown" is an entertaining horror film for fans of "Final Destination". The plot and the acting are not bad and Quinn Harris is a pleasant character. There are silly and unnecessary subplots, like the harassment of Dr. Sullivan, the priest that likes to joke or the romance of Quinn and Matt, but in general the movie is worthwhile watching. My vote is six,

Title (Brazil): "A Hora da Sua Morte" ("The Time of Your Death")