Countdown (2019) Review

"All we have to do is beat the clock by one second."
-Father John



 A popular new app called Countdown tells you the exact moments of your death.  Nurse Quinn Harris (Elizabeth Lail) downloads the app and discovers she only has three days left to live.  When other people start to die exactly when the app says, Quinn has to find a way to beat the clock before it runs out.


What Works:

Surprisingly, the acting in this movie is solid.  I usually expect the worst from a movie like this, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Everyone does a good job.  We get a bunch of high-school students in the opener that actually feel like high-school students.  

There are two characters that stand out in a very positive way.  First is Derek (Tom Segura), the owner of a phone repair shop.  He is absolutely hilarious and I wish he was in more of the movie.

Finally, the other great character is Father Tom (P.J. Byrne), who has an amazing introduction as priest eating Communion bread.  He is a hilarious and unique character who needed more to do.  If this movie had been about him and Derek fighting a killer app, it would have been a perfect movie.


What Sucks:

I was really hoping Countdown would be a so-bad-it's-good movie, but instead it's mostly bland.  The movie doesn't get creative enough with the concept.  The deaths are especially lame with the only decent one being spoiled in the trailer.  If this movie had been more of a Final Destination clone, it would be more memorable.

The scares are all pretty generic as well.  It's a few jump scares with a lame looking monster showing up occasionally.  Again, it doesn't use any of its potential.

Finally, this movie is too dark in terms of lighting.  The two big sequences near the end of the movie are almost pitch black and it's difficult to see what's happening sometimes.  The audience needs to be able to see what's happening on the screen.


Verdict:

Countdown is a disappointing movie.  It wastes what could have been a fun, bad movie with bland scares, lackluster kills, and poor lighting.  The acting is good and a couple of the supporting character are great, but this movie simply isn't worth your time.

 4/10: Bad 

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