[Movie] Countdown (2019)

Why would anyone want to know when they would die? That question came to my mind when I came across the movie “Countdown” while scrolling on social media. After watching the clips contained in the post, I decided to find the trailer and watch it to have a better glimpse of it. It had the elements of horror. Well, I don't seem to back down from that.

^TMBD

If you're familiar with themes of horror movies you would know that some ancient elements are involved, not technological tools. It's different here, though still some link to ancient elements. Countdown was an app that could tell a person when they would die. The movie started with a house party, and a group of friends seated around a table playing games and drinking. One of them wanting to download an app came across the Countdown app. Seeing what it was about, she told the others.

They found it ridiculous that something like that would actually be true, so they decided to use it for a game, where whoever had the least time to die would drink the whole cups of drink on the table. It's funny how this is one of the times when one's instincts could deter them from doing something but peer pressure could say otherwise. That was the case with Courtney who lost the game as the app revealed she had 3 hours to live. She had to drink up, but her boyfriend, Evan stepped in to help.

^TMBD

Time's counting down and Evan was drunk. Courtney who was sceptical about the app from the beginning is now being cautious. She insisted he shouldn't drive which he refused, saying he was good to go. She decided to walk home and he angrily drove off. It looked like Courtney averted her demise because he had an accident that would have eventually killed her. However, one can try to change but not escape their death when they use the app, accepting the terms and conditions.

Courtney met a mysterious death in her apartment. Evan, who was in the hospital was rattled because the app showed he had about 17 hours to live. Yes, he used the app too. He told the nurse taking care of him about it when she realised he was unsettled. She found it unbelievable and tried to make him ignore it. Scheduled for surgery in a few hours, he knew death awaited him there. Trying to elude it, he met a mysterious death as well in the hospital’s dark stairway.

^TMBD

The nurse, Quinn had initially downloaded the app out of curiosity and checked hers too. She had about 2 days to live. Finding out about his death, she did a little poking, got his phone and discovered the app had counted down to zero. It meant that was real. She was now concerned. After much concern she tried deleting the app but to no avail. She then proceeded to a phone store and purchased a new phone, but even before she stepped out, the app appeared on the new phone, counting down.

Into the picture comes Matt, a young man in the same situation and with similar time to live as Quinn. Their predicament formed them into a team on a quest to find answers and help. They sought the help of a priest who wasn't just willing to help, but found the subject of demons interesting. He revealed that this curse from long ago and in a different scenario, now transferred into the modern day in the form of an app. They tried to hack the app and extend their time through the help of the phone store owner, which worked.

^TMBD

Thinking they had rest, it reverted that night. It got more complicated when Quinn found out her sister had used the app too and had similar time to live. They experienced some hauntings after which they ended up at the priest’s place again. He suggested a way they could beat the time which would break the curse. After prayers and some measures, they waited. The demon however got into Matt’s head, deceived him and drew him away from the protection. That was his end. The sisters were now fighting for their lives.

In the final minutes when Quinn’s sister was almost dying, she had a wise plan. When a person dies before their time, the curse will break. So rather than that, the demon protects its victims till their time is due. Quinn injected herself with a fatal dose of morphine to save her sister. With the curse broken, the demon vanished. But it was all a trick. She had naloxone in her hand closed tight which fell off. The sister saw it and the direction in Quinn’s arm to inject and revive her. That worked out and they both survived.

It didn't seem like it was over because in the end, when they visited their mom's grave, the app appeared on the phone, reading “Countdown 2.0.” I must say that I didn't really have high expectations of the movie. They used cheap jump scares and loud noises to bring the feeling which didn't really do much. The idea of a killer app was also silly and weak. For a low-budget movie, it probably tried, especially with the efforts of the main actors.

Thank you for reading!