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apophenia / a-pə-ˈfē-nē-ə / noun
the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things.
Opening with a man watching what looks like porn, we slowly realize the video is of his girlfriend having sex with someone else. After he rage takes over and he “accidentally” shoots her, we’re introduced to an Uber driver, Texas Tim (Will Brandt), and his passenger, Poppy (Simran Jehani) who propositions him for a night of fun – because “her husband likes to watch.”
They arrive at a party house and join two of Poppy’s friends: Chase and Stolleto, where tension quickly arises after a video is sent to Poppy showing Stolleto trash-talking her. Misunderstandings ensue, fights break out, and a late arrival to the gathering causes an unstoppable series of unfortunately bloody events.
As it turns out, both of these videos were created by Duke (Aaron Holliday), who has masterminded the art of using an AI app to create believable deepfake videos that can be used to blackmail, steal, or fuck other people’s shit up just becuase YOU CAN.
Duke is trying to sell his companion, Cedrick (Jermaine Fowler) on the possibilities this opens up to the both of them, but as Cedrick wisely says, “In the wrong hands, this technology can get kind of ruthless…” A phrase that sets us up for the last third of the movie.
I’m not sure I’m 100% down with how “cancel culture” is portrayed here, but the resulting bloodbath is spectacular and this film is definitely a wildly gory ride. Directed by Chris Marrs Piliero, this is like a mashup of Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino. A unique concept with impressive special F/X, and a healthy amount of my favorite thing: SPLATTER.
APPOFENIACS is currently playing at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX.
I Love Splatter! 