If you could know exactly when you are going to die, would you want to know? Because there’s an app for that. This was the plot for the brand new movie, Countdown, released October 25, 2019. The movie follows the characters that download a seemingly harmless app on their phones that are supposed to provide a countdown to the exact second you are going to die, only to realize the truth behind it. This plotline had a lot of potential, but the movie seemed to have squandered it.

It was a typical horror film, with enough jump scares to make you want to jump right out of the theater. But, it also had bits of all the other genres of movies: romance, family, sadness, comedy, and finally, (sorry, small spoiler) a happy ending. A little something for everyone, right? The only problem is, there was too much packed into one movie. The writers should have chosen one genre and stuck with it. Also–and this may just be my opinion–but happy endings in scary movies are never really the way to go. While scary movies themselves aren’t meant to be realistic, a happy ending makes it seem even less realistic. 

The writers decided to end it in a way that hinted at a sequel, but I can’t really see a way they could create another entire movie on this topic. 

After the trailer was released, the creators also released the exact app the movie is based on, available in almost all app stores, called Countdown. Because people want an app for everything, right? Even death. They swear the app is not accurate, but after seeing the movie, I myself am not willing to download it. But that’s not stopping anyone. Sales for the app have skyrocketed ever since the movie was released. 

The cost of making the movie was around $6.5 million, and since its release, it has made over $28 million in the box office worldwide. Not completely terrible, but it did only obtain a 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. All in all, the movie was not the worst horror movie I have seen, but it was definitely not the best either.