To some people, movies are not just entertainment. Whether it’s the themes or characters, a great many fans wish that what they are seeing was real. But be careful what you wish for, as some films get closer to being true than we’d want to believe. In the case of Appofeniacs, things get too real thanks to the nefarious use of deep-fake AI. Like a digital pebble in a pond, the ripples created by one person’s actions will never stop spreading.
Suffice to say, this prophetic narrative from Chris Marrs Piliero is as serious as cancer. But to keep this from being a heavy-handed tale (think Requiem For A Dream for instance), Piliero’s story sports a truly wacky band of characters adding color to what could have been a dour series of misadventures. From loud-mouthed and opinionated rants to stares from taciturn players whose intensity boils just below their eyelids, there’s a full array of rich and colorful characters that are attractive on screen…but you’d probably never want to meet them in real life.
In cinema, people tend to fall in love with the villain for a variety of reasons. Maybe it’s because we want to say and/do the things they portray on the screen. Or maybe we just love rotting against an antagonist. Either way, Aaron Holliday‘s Duke in Appofeniacs is one such character. And then there are times when actors who do something against type which brings us to Jermaine Fowler who exudes a wolf-like coolness with his unblinking stares and effortless chill. He’s so good at it, you’ll forget the multiple times he’s split your sides with his uproariously candid and heartfelt stand-up comedy.
Together, they cast an alluring brand of magic that other films only wish they could capture. Their scenes command attention and it’s just a joy to watch them share the same space. Enjoy our chats with Aaron and Jermaine as we dive into the fun and of Appofeniacs and other exciting moments in their careers on The GoSeeTalk Podcast Experience!
Amused by exploiting our instinct to believe what we see and hear, Duke (Aaron Holliday) treats deepfakes like a contagious party trick. Not because he has something to prove, but simply because he can. Soon blood starts to spill, but Duke isn’t the one who has to clean it up. Intersecting storylines catch the fallout of Duke’s petty pastime: Poppy (Simran Jehani), heading into the desert for a weekend of cosplay and foreplay; Clinto Binto (Sean Gunn), a legend in the scene with a reputation too expensive to fake; and Lazzy (Paige Searcy), a stranger who picks the wrong line, the wrong coffee shop, and the wrong day to argue.
Paranoia. Confirmation bias. Baseless certainty. We’re all APPOFENIACS. When anyone’s version of the truth can be created with the tap of a finger, the horror isn’t the lie. It’s what happens when people believe it.
APPOFENIACS will be released only on theaters on October 2
