Quinn Harris (Elizabeth Lail) has just become a licensed RN, and her hospital coworkers are throwing her a little celebration. Earlier, one of Quinn’s patients told her about this app which shows its users how much time they left to live. While Quinn didn’t put much stock into it, her patient was freaked out, exclaiming that this app had killed his girlfriend, and now he was supposed to die during his scheduled surgery. Quinn mentions the Countdown app at the party, and all of the staff members decide to install it for fun. While most folks are told they’ll live into old age, Quinn’s phone informs her she has just under 3 days left. Quinn laughs it off, until the next day when her patient dies, right on schedule.

Quinn starts to panic, trying to delete the app, and even gets a new phone, but the app just keeps re-appearing. While at the phone store, she runs into Matt Monroe (Jordan Calloway), who is in a similar situation, but with even less time left to live. When the Countdown app first launches, the user is asked to agree to the terms of service, which no one ever actually reads. Buried in this agreement is the rule that the user cannot try to use their deadline information to alter their destiny. So if the user tries to change where they were supposed to be at their scheduled time of death in order to avoid it, they will hear a scream and a sinister laugh, along with the notification that they have broken the user agreement. When this occurs, the user won’t just be stalked by the angel of death—a new demon will also constantly haunt and terrorize them, until their predetermined expiration date. So now Quinn also has to deal with demons haunting her, unable to trust anything she sees. And to make matters worse, she discovers that her younger sister Jordan (Talitha Bateman) has also installed the app, and is scheduled to die within 3 minutes of her. Can Quinn and Matt find a way to stop this app and demon before it’s too late? They decide to attack the problem from two different angles, seeking help from both phone hacker Derek (Tom Segura) and oddball priest Father John (P.J. Byrne)—who totally geeks out over the prospect of getting to fight a demon.

I found Countdown to be a pretty solid horror film, though a little like a Final Destination tale, but with less suspense, since the folks who have been marked for death know exactly when their time is coming. They may not know how they will be killed, and if they try to alter events to avoid that death (like most of the victims do in these movies), they will start seeing terrifying things. However, they aren’t actually going to be killed until their time is up, so some of those stakes have been removed.

That said, I like how the film mixes modern technology with an ancient demon/curse. The filmmakers do a nice job of building that initial tension, and following the tried and true horror movie formula. Typically in these types of films, the initial cold open death is usually a bit of a throwaway, to set the tone and give the audience a glimpse of the killing mechanism that will follow. However, in this case, I like how filmmakers actually tied this into Quinn’s patient, and so it didn’t feel like the usual disconnected scene, and actually served a purpose.

Then we meet our main protagonists who discover they are marked for death and must try to understand what they are dealing with and how they can possibly beat it. There are some nice scares and really creepy scenes as Quinn, Matt and Jordan start to see the demon that is haunting them for breaking the user agreement. These scenes also make sure the viewer is aware of some things that will be important for the big showdown in the final act. Over the course of the film, we also learn more about Quinn and Matt’s tragic backstories, as a way to make them feel a little more fleshed out. However, one character that really didn’t work for me was the almost cartoonish and two-dimensional Dr. Sullivan (Peter Facinelli), who is a scumbag and a chauvinist, and doesn’t react well to Quinn’s rejection of his advances.

In addition to the horror, Countdown also finds moments of humor. Most of these come from the stoned out, tattooed Father John, who is nothing like your typical priest. He is so excited to take on this demon—something he has been preparing for all his holy life—and his joy and enthusiasm is infectious. Another character who also adds a lighter element to the film is phone store owner/hacker Derek, who is such a weasel of a man, but maybe Quinn and Matt’s only hope.

Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds excellent. The picture is crisp and clean throughout, in both darker and lighter scenes. The audio track provides clear dialogue as well as an immersive viewing experience. Whether its the sound of pouring rain coming from overhead, or the creepy sounds of the demon haunting its victims, the film really comes to life in your living room.

The Blu-ray and DVD discs comes packed in standard multi-disc HD keepcase with an embossed slipcover, and contains an insert with a code to redeem for an HD iTunes digital copy of the film (it is not Movies Anywhere compatible). Unfortunately the release doesn’t include any bonus material.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:30:40)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

DVD:

• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital (for redemption deadline, see NBCUcodes.com):

• HD digital copy redeemable via iTunes (Not Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:

There is no bonus material included.

Final Thoughts:

Countdown is a pretty solid, by-the-books horror film with a clever concept that mixes modern technology with a classic marked for death/haunted by demons storyline. It feels like Final Destination, but with some lessened mystery/stakes since the victims know exactly when they will die, just not how. Universal’s Blu-ray looks and sounds great, but unfortunately doesn’t include any bonus material. For that reason, folks may wish to rent it or wait for a price drop.