As we all know, evil never sleeps… and never lags behind technological innovations. There were already damned videotapes, malevolent phone calls, and dangerous videos from the depths of the Internet. This time, the evil forces will get their hands on us via a smartphone application. Is there anything to be afraid of? Time to start the countdown!
Always read the terms of the contract!
It cannot be denied that the outline of the plot served to us by Justin Dec does not sound very encouraging – it was already there! Building a story around the inevitable doom that awaits heroes when the meter reads zero gives the impression of a slightly updated and a tad more direct version of the once popular Final Destination series. The idea is very simple: out of boredom, people download another nonsense app that foreshadows the alleged moment of their death. This one, of course, turns out to be quite real, and the only thing left for the curious unfortunates is to try to cheat through … er, that is … try to change their fate. Nevertheless, it means falling into the gutter from the rain, because any changes in plans, dictated by the prediction of the ominous meter, result in breaking the terms of the contract, which every user – as it happens in life – has approved without reading. It quickly becomes clear that the evil powers have only been waiting for this.
If someone was hoping for a completely new approach to the subject and a revolution in the genre, unfortunately we will not experience it here. The macro-scale Coundown remains completely schematic; watching, we will not grab our heads and wonder what has, um, put aside. I’m guessing the director deliberately chose to act conservatively, mindful of his own inexperience. Nevertheless, the film is clearly aware of its own cliche and inevitable associations with some older productions, so it plays with the viewer’s expectations over and over again – delicately, without going off the beaten path, but still. Staying with the spoiler-free generalities, let me say that what we expect happens, but not in the way we thought.
Source: indiewire.com
Something popped up again, I can’t take it!
No matter how easy it is – yes, this title is full of jump scares. Many of you probably grimaced at this point and decided to skip the screening, and maybe even continue reading the reviews. But stay a while longer. Personally, I do not believe that relying on this grip inherently disqualifies the entire painting, as long as it is used with the head. And in Countdownso it is. Here again you can see the subtle play with the well-worn tricks of horror filmmakers. Yes, there is a lot of it, as much as in the first better trash, but here it is not thrown thoughtlessly, just to raise the adrenaline level of the viewer at a small cost. The whole thing takes place in a I-know-you-you-know atmosphere, and Dec is constantly juggling these seemingly primitive scarecrows. Sometimes we get a completely ordinary jump scare, underpinned by a dozen or so seconds of increasing music, after which something will hit us from outside the frame, and we jump in the chair with the irritating thought “well, I knew it would happen”. Other times, it will appear completely unexpectedly, in a seemingly calm scene, without any warning from the soundtrack. Other times it will be too much build up on purpose
The inattentive viewer will probably not notice these nuances, but they prove that the director does not throw crap at us as he possibly can, but tries to squeeze something more valuable out of the rather compromised plays. This is also evidenced by the fact that the scarecrows are constantly intertwined with the moments of calmly pushing the plot forward, slowly spreading an aura of anxiety or silly elements under the sign of comic relief. The film jumps between them in really short intervals, thanks to which the image remains very dynamic and none of the formulas will probably tire us out.
By the way, the mentioned comic relief is quite a lot in Countdown , and the jokes that create it can be quite bizarre and not necessarily in the best taste. The lion’s share of them revolves around two clergymen who the heroes seek help from. During the viewing, I came to the conclusion that this is probably the area where the creators decided to openly live on the cliché – so instead of the expected rescue for the protagonists from the gloomy exorcist, seasoned with spiritual battles, they treated the audience with a steak of dubious quality gags, driven by clumsy priests .
Source: thedailytimes.com
Nothing new under the sun…
… Which is nothing new under the sun. Justin Dec’s painting is not groundbreaking in any field. But that doesn’t mean he’s bad. If someone is looking for a medium to watch with friends, he will probably leave the screening pleasantly surprised, having received what he wanted, with a bit of “something more”. I, as a former B-horror fan who has seen more non-genuine dudes than I would like to admit, will definitely fail Countdownto this group, despite its “safe” story structure and a few stumbles characteristic of the genre. I mean, for example, the spontaneous but sharp drops in IQ of some characters. I am not able to forgive the creators of the scene, during which the person attacking someone by surprise with a crowbar, with the intention of quickly killing someone, aims at the ribs instead of the head … After all, it does not happen so often, that I would not be inclined to turn a blind eye a bit in general assessment.
For sure, I also count on the plus side that the story is written very neatly, and each thread is in some way important and finds its solution before the end credits fall on us. This even applies to the theme of workplace harassment, which for the most part of the film seemed to be of no use and on several occasions I wondered about the meaning of its presence between other events. This approach is somehow refreshing in the era of horrors written carelessly and losing less important threads as the plot unfolds, as well as those that deliberately try to be unreadable, such as last year’s Heritage .
The shots used and the soundtrack at school would receive a four. They do their job well, but nothing more. The music works where it should and highlights the things visible on the screen, but nothing will delight us here. It is similar with acting: we will not throw tomatoes at anyone and we will not challenge them to clogs, nor will we chuckle with pity during a serious scene, but the creation of any character will not stand out above the others and will not stay with us for longer.
We would like to thank the Cinema City chain for the opportunity to watch the film.
