High concept horror can always be relied on to do a decent turn both at the box office and on streaming, regardless of whether or not the movie in question is actually any good. Proving that point for the umpteenth time, 2019’s Countdown finds itself rocketing up the Netflix most-watched list as we head into another weekend.
As per FlixPatrol, writer and director Justin Dec’s supernatural chiller has scored multiple Top 10 finishes in various countries, and if it continues on its current trajectory, then Countdown could realistically be in with a shot at entering the global Top 20 by this time tomorrow.
The premise is certainly an intriguing one, with Elizabeth Lail’s nurse downloading a nefarious app that predicts exactly when the user is going to die, sending her into a tailspin when it reveals she’s only got three days left to live.
There’s also the small matter of the haunting presence lurking in the shadows to instill her with abject terror at every turn, forcing her into a desperate battle to try and disprove the technology.
Ignoring the 26% Rotten Tomatoes score (which is par for the course when it comes to low budget horror), the 72% user rating and $48 million theatrical haul on a $6.5 million budget would indicate that Countdown has proven highly popular among horror aficionados.
The movie doesn’t quite live up to the undoubted potential of the premise, but if you’ve got a soft spot for intriguing ideas laced with buckets of blood and some requisite jump scares, then there’s plenty to like.