By George & Josh Bate
As the climate, governments, and social structures of our world crumble, AI has quickly added another issue to contend with in recent years. The new psychological thriller Appofeniacs from accomplished music video director Chris Marrs Piliero feeds on the well-founded anxieties many have about AI and deepfake technology to craft what is arguably the year’s most disturbingly relevant movie.
Appofeniacs parallels Pulp Fiction and Magnolia in focusing on an array of characters that enter and exit the story in occasionally non-linear fashion. Uniting all the characters is a tale of powerful technology in the wrong hands. Over the course of the film, various characters see their lives upended by a young man obsessed with creating deepfake videos and determined to find new ways to exploit the technology.
Piliero’s film unfolds as a cascading narrative, a story that sees dominos fall one-by-one until culminating in a bombastic finale. A violent first scene clues audiences in that this will not be a tame endeavor, but Piliero lulls the audience in with a first act that is allowed to breathe and slowly unravel. Even when the film’s mirroring of dominos crashing into one another more blatantly reveals itself, the events that unfold prove so unpredictable and bookend each scene of Appofeniacs on an intriguing, uncomfortable, or even provocative note.
Anyone who is already nervous about the implications of deepfake technology and AI will see these anxieties amplified after Appofeniacs. Rather than going too heightened or fantastical with its story, the film employs a measured, realistic approach to how this technology can be misused, which makes it all the more disturbing. The idea that someone can take an image of you and twist that into a video that derails your life truly gets under your skin and, eventually, transitions the film from psychological thriller to psychological horror territory.
Confident filmmaking and scripting sees Pilero masterfully weave together various characters and stories. In watching how all the pieces of the story click together so seamlessly and perfectly, it is difficult to believe that Appofeniacs marks Piliero’s feature directorial debut. Seldom have seen a first directorial outing as self-assured, ambitious, and well put together as this. The shot composition is exquisite, as is calculated editing that sees each and every frame serve a clear purpose for the story. The movie may take a little while to get going for some, but patient viewers will be rewarded upon witnessing the full realization of this surgically engineering story.
As the proverbial rock continues rolling down the hill, Appofeniacs goes bigger and louder with a relatively crazy finale. The conclusion rather overtly screams the film’s admittedly straightforward message at the audience and definitely had us wondering if a more grounded ending would have worked better and been more disturbing. Nonetheless, much in keeping with the rest of the film, Piliero’s confidence doesn’t waver as he executes a shocking final act. Even if it lacks any semblance of subtlety and may dampen the preceding film’s more grounded take on the implications of AI, the ending packs one hell of a punch and will leave a lasting impression.
VERDICT: 8/10
Marking a confident, ambitious feature directorial debut from Chris Marrs Piliero, the new Fantastic Fest premiere Appofeniacs feeds on the anxieties many have about AI and deepfake technology to craft what is arguably the year’s most disturbingly relevant movie. Weaving together various stories and characters in a manner similar to Pulp Fiction and Magnolia, Piliero tells a fascinating, cascading tale that sees one domino fall after another following a young man’s exploitation of deepfake technology. Although the film takes a bit to get going and reveal its true identity, it picks up steam along the way and genuinely gets under your skin regarding what could easily happen to any of us with AI readily available today. Eventually, the falling dominos culminate in a bombasting finale that loses the preceding film’s more grounded approach and sees the film lose some of its unsettling nature in favor of more overt thrills. Regardless of one’s opinion on this finale, it is undoubted that Piliero announces himself to the world here with a self-assured debut feature. As our world sits on the precipice of technology that can prove truly dangerous in the wrong hands, Appofeniacs may not just be recommended viewing – it may be required viewing as we still try to wrap our heads around the implications AI has on our future.