‘APP’ DVD Review

Confession time – when I start to read the plot synopsis for a horror movie and it starts with “a group of college friends…” I immediately set it back on the shelf or continue scouring Netflix for something with protagonists that won’t be insufferably obnoxious token characters just there to get carved up.

Anyway, it’s noteworthy because in the case of Dutch horror production APP (not to be confused with the 2014 comedy short of the same name), I didn’t even mind. It’s also noteworthy, that luckily for the film, the plot synopsis doesn’t really mention a group of college friends; I just wanted to make a point.

APP has some gimmicky things going on about it. You can actually install a real-life application to your smartphone that supposedly syncs with the film. I chose to pass. Gimmicky? Yes but also kind of genius. I have to give the filmmakers props. It’s surprising no one thought of it sooner. Perhaps a re-watch with the APP is due.

So is the actual movie good underneath all that? Yes, it is. It even has some valid yet subtle points to make about the techno-zombification modern society suffers from. Put your damn phones down, people! Unless you’re reading this review on your mobile… carry on… then put your damn phone down!

So, here’s the rundown: we’re at some Europy college, following the Europy collegey exploits of Anna (Hannah Hoekstra). We run the usual gauntlet of character introduction. Anna’s fun if not a touch bland, has an uninhibited bestie, likes to party but not party too much and stays on top of her schoolwork. She also has a near-paralyzed brother struggling through rehab after a debilitating spill on his motorcycle. As you might expect, being an early twenty-something college student, she’s staring down at her phone quite a lot.

At the obligatory, douchey party scene, an app called “Iris” is mysteriously installed on her phone. Think Siri from Hell… or… yeah… just Siri. That’s when things start getting all freaky-deaky. Iris has a menacing yet retro face, a humiliating video of Anna’s BFF mid-coitus suddenly uploads itself from her phone and panicked 911 calls from the future start pouring in (unless I missed something, this sadly never gets explained to satisfaction, which is a mega-bummer as it added a whole other level of timey-wimey intrigue).

From there, the film plays out in typical slasher fashion, as Iris kills (or deletes) her way through Anna’s schoolmates and even indirectly a professor. Nothing new there but the fact it’s an evil application on a smartphone using humiliation tactics and setting up slightly Final Destinationesque death scenarios breathes some new life into the old slasher genre. It’s a pity that originality doesn’t extend just a bit further than it does and the film does eventually fall prey to some pretty tired horror platitudes (Not Quite Dead, anyone?).


It should be mentioned that APP isn’t necessarily what one would call horror, at least by today’s excessive torture-porn standards – this is meant purely as a compliment. There’s blood here and there but no extreme gore to speak of. APP operates with more subtlety than that and fancies itself a psychological horror-thriller instead of a mindless splatterfest, carving its way through promiscuous college students.

Hannah Hoekstra is a likeable and later badass lead you’ll have little trouble rooting for her as she battles her way toward ridding herself of Iris. The supporting cast also delivers good performances, though it’s sometimes difficult to tell through the English dubbing (remember, this is a Dutch movie). For every actor there are really two actors, unless of course some of them are bilingual, can do an American accent and dubbed themselves.

On that technical note, the dubbing is also quite good considering the language barrier it has to compensate for. Film ain’t anime – when human mouth movements are in a different language, things have a tendency to feel pretty awkward after English ADR. Again thankfully, mostly good voice performances prevent much distraction once you grow accustomed to it. That’s not to say some characters don’t occasionally come off as wonky but the core cast always feel pretty organic.

The twists and reveals won’t particularly floor you but aren’t altogether predictable either. If I have one firm criticism, it’s that the ultimate answer to it all is pretty contrived, yet doesn’t really make a lick of sense when you think about it. I don’t want to spoil anything anymore than I may already have, so just brace for a serious WTF face once Iris’ existence is finally explained. This wouldn’t be the first horror movie to be more about the murderous journey than the expository destination.

So, are there some obnoxious token characters? Sure. There’s a fairly over-the-top gay character who’s introduced only for the purpose of publicly revealing that he’s been handing out sexual favors in exchange for good grades. Then he’s never seen again. Are there some annoying college clichés you’ll have to ignore? Indeed. However, they’re pretty tame by American standards and for once I didn’t really mind thanks to APP’s refreshing villain and premise.

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