Countdown
STX Entertainment | Release Date: October 25, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
31
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
7
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
71
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiOct 25, 2019
Countdown can never be taken seriously enough to work as a conventional horror thriller, and it’s never quite funny enough to be a great horror comedy. But it’s got just enough eccentricity and self-awareness to entertain despite those obvious deficiencies. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfOct 26, 2019
As proven by Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Final Destination 3 or the spunky Jessica Rothe in Happy Death Day, these fate-driven, high-concept horror flicks can be redeemed by a committed central performance. Countdown’s Elizabeth Lail, as a nurse who wants to get to the bottom of things, joins their company; she’s got a certain Jennifer Lawrence scrappiness. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKimber MyersOct 24, 2019
This isn’t a subtle, moody film filled with a sense of unease; instead, jump scares are around every corner. If that’s all you want from a horror movie, you’ll have a very good time — and an elevated heart rate for its speedy 90 minutes. Read full review
58
IndieWireKate ErblandOct 24, 2019
The movie arrives at an eye-roll inducing final twist, and hints at an inevitable sequel. But this app isn't exactly begging for an upgrade. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleOct 30, 2019
Surprisingly, Countdown works best when it operates less as a Nineties horror homage and more as a modern horror-comedy. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeOct 24, 2019
A pedestrian thriller whose personal-tech gimmick is even more thinly imagined than one might guess, it's a jumble of cheap jump scares made watchable by likable leads Elizabeth Lail and Jordan Calloway. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 24, 2019
It’s not highbrow entertainment. Movies like this always feel “designed,” like a theme park ride — story beat, JOLT, exposition exposition JOLT, etc. But Countdown manages the bare minimum — the occasional shock, characters we root for, thanks to the actors playing them, and situations fraught enough that the audience is talking back to the screen. Read full review
40
EmpireElla KempOct 25, 2019
The topical nightmare has potential to get under your skin, but relies too much on familiar jump scares and easy violence to achieve anything long-lasting or truly groundbreaking. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Oct 24, 2019
In Countdown, it’s the audience that really gets cheated. Read full review
25
The PlaylistCharles BarfieldOct 25, 2019
Countdown is completely inessential and adds absolutely nothing of value to the cautionary tale genre of technology horror. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineDerek SmithOct 24, 2019
If there’s an ethos that Justin Dec’s film believes in, it’s only that “death sucks.” Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleZaki HasanOct 24, 2019
Between “Jexi” a few weeks ago and now this, October has ended up becoming quite a great month for bad movies about scary software. Read full review
20
Screen DailyTim GriersonOct 26, 2019
The downside to a film that includes multiple shots of a clock counting down is that it provides audiences with an unintended rooting interest: we’re just hoping it gets to zero soon so we can leave the theatre. Read full review
20
The GuardianBenjamin LeeOct 24, 2019
Rather than screaming for them to go the other way, you'll be urging them to accept fate and die instead. Read full review
12
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiOct 25, 2019
Countdown pretty much fails on every level that a horror film possibly can — the characters are uninteresting dullards, the story is idiotic, and the scares are nonexistent. Read full review
10
VarietyDennis HarveyOct 24, 2019
Bombastically dumb new chiller that probably would have been called "Killer App" if that title hadn't already been used several times. Read full review
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