Countdown review: Death catches up with the times as it starts to utilise an app to cross names off of its list in this modern spin on both Final Destination and Ringu.
Starring Elizabeth Lail, of Netflix’s You, Countdown centres around an app with the ability to predict your death day. Initially written off as another silly phone app, Quinn (Lail) soon comes to realise that something more sinister is happening. As dead bodies start mounting up, and Quinn’s clock rapidly begins to count down to her demise, she must do everything she can to save, not only herself, but those closest to her too.
The film may sound like your classic Blumhouse affair, but it actually comes from STX Entertainment, and overall Countdown makes for a worthy competitor. Writer and director Justin Dec taps into the magic of films such as Final Destination and Ringu, and brings a touch of nostalgia for those old enough to remember seeing those films in the cinemas. Here, rather than cheating death by jumping off of a plane or the like, if a user interferes with their countdown, by changing plans that would be happening during their time of death for example, they breach the contract and set a death demon after them. It’s a cautionary tale that, in an exaggerated way, teaches the importance of always reading the terms and conditions of a contract. Dec also treats us to a timely #MeToo subplot featuring Quinn and one of her superiors. It’s a nice addition to the narrative and breaks up the over-the-top killer app ridiculousness.
The death and scare sequences are as unique and varied as anything in the franchises that it honours and, given their differences, work almost as a series of short films. The opening sequence is particularly strong, as is a hospital bathroom scene, which may contain the creepiest crying in a bathroom since the bathroom in the school in the first Silent Hill video game. Dec doesn’t rely on the tried and tested jump scares, Countdown does have them, but resists the urge to overuse them in every five minutes.
As we reach the final third, Countdown slowly begins to unravel. Plot holes begin to emerge and we get sudden leaps of logic. There’s also the introduction of a takeaway-munching, hip-hop listening, demon fanatical priest. The character is played heavily for laughs, clearly a tool to lighten the tension, but he just doesn’t work within the structure of the movie. The tone shifts completely for the few scenes in which he is present, the result is a distracting and confusing misstep. Thankfully this doesn’t last forever, but by then damage has been done and the film struggles to resume the intense momentum.
A solid mixture of Final Destination scale, red-herring deaths, and a Ring-like ticking time-bomb, Countdown is an admirable hybrid of these films for the current tech savvy generation.
Countdown is in cinemas now.
