Countdown (2019) - Nice idea, but slightly flawed execution

I have to say I actually quite enjoyed this.  For what it was.  When I sat down I was looking for a no-brainer little horror film and I got exactly what I wanted. 'Countdown' has a nice little premise (although perhaps a bit of an update of 'The Ring' if I'm being picky) - an app that you can download on your smartphone which will show the exact time of your death - down to the minutes and seconds.

Naturally, our female protagonist finds they have inadvertently downloaded the app and now only has a couple of days to live - unless she can make a copy of the killer video tape... oh, wait - that's 'The Ring' again, isn't it?  That doesn't happen here.

The leading lady is likable enough and, although this horror movie doesn't really reinvent the wheel in terms of storytelling, it is a nice update on the tried and tested formula.  You have the creepy supernatural force stalking a woman who slowly learns about what's really going on.  You also have the 'knowlegable' local authority who just so happens to have an inside knowledge on the subject.  

About the only thing that didn't really gel was a bit of a ham-fisted attempt to crowbar in a nasty work colleague who has 'improper designs' on our heroine.  The whole sub-plot could probably have been removed and the film would be slicker for it.  Without giving away too much about the ending and how the film is resolved, I guess this part of the story is setting up part of the climax.  In fact, if the film has a major weakness it's that the end feels a little contrived.

Overall, this is a fun little horror film - probably more for... modern audiences, but an oldie like me even got something out of it.  Even if I've been humming the theme from the long-running British Channel 4 TV show of the same name ever since.

6/10 Should probably keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights