A frenetic, stylish, and disturbingly timely techno-thriller.
We live in an age where misinformation spreads faster than facts and the line between reality and digital illusion grows ever thinner. Swathes of the population are ill-informed and dangerously polarized, and as we lurch towards the precipice, the already manifesting potential of AI, and Deepfake technology to be the thing that pushes over the edge is already becoming all too apparent. Plenty of films have looked to take on this tech, with varying success, but Appofeniacs manages to capture both the wider scope and more intimate impact of this of this technological terror with a stylish flair and chilling tone.
The film opens with glimpse of the film’s core. A digital bombshell that destroys the lives of a young couple. We then meet a rather motley crew arriving at a remote Airbnb. A bunch of friends, along with a few newcomers, getting together to blow off some steam, dip into the hot-tub, and for one newcomer, a chance to join a couple in their polygamous marriage. But as the drinks flow and machismo-fueled tensions simmer, we get our first connective strand that brings the shockwaves from the opening back into focus, igniting a new round of destructive chaos. Building from the titular definition the film opens with, “the tendency to perceive connections between unrelated things“, the film spins a web of interconnected vignettes, each revealing new dimensions to the story and the characters. From mistaken identities to digital betrayals, from twisting words, to slasher-style horror, the film layers genre upon genre with confident flair.
An accomplished first-time feature from writer/director Chris Marrs Piliero, Appofeniacs wraps the style honed from work in music videos around the world-warping impact of deepfakes, AI abuse, and app-driven digital vengeance. Visually, the film is kinetic and compelling. The shot composition pops, aided by a vivid neon-soaked palette and a pulsating score. Practical effects bring a satisfying crunch to the film’s bursts of violence, while strong, attuned performances across the board keep the tone grounded amidst the madness.
While the style is distinct, the homages are not. This is a Tarantino-tinged package and the dialogue is suffused with that distinct lilt. It is laid on a little thick, notably in a Reservoir Dogs-like tip rant, but Piliero mostly avoids pastiche by channeling those influences into something sharper, more uncomfortably contemporary. The film is a dark satire on our current techno-cultural moment, where deepfakes, viral videos, and anonymous apps can destroy reputations, relationships, and lives. Now let’s be clear, Deepfake tech is a tool, and so it’s down to how people, corporations, and let’s be honest now, even Governments choose to use it. The sad truth is that it offers another means of control, and another weapon in the hands of someone looking to cause harm.
Where Appofeniacs excels is in its showcase of how the veil of online anonymity dissolves empathy, how the click of a button can feel weightless even when it destroys someone’s life. One character casually ruins someone’s life not out of vengeance, but because he finds them “just fucking annoying.” It’s this detached, casual cruelty that makes Appofeniacs strike such an effective chord.
Appofeniacs doesn’t just imagine a dark future, it refracts our present into something grotesque and exaggerated, but never implausible. Offbeat sensibilities temper the darker elements, but the message hits hard in this frenetic, stylish, and disturbingly timely techno-thriller.
