‘Appofeniacs’ Movie Review [Fantastic Fest 2025]: A Marriage of Deepfake Mayhem and Gore-Soaked Chaos

Photo from Fantastic Fest

From Jeff Nelson

Appofeniacs taps into the primal fear of the unknown with an unhinged technological twist. Writer-director Chris Marrs Piliero draws inspiration from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in a gory cautionary tale that wants to make you cringe just as much from its gnarly gross factor as it does with comedy.

The movie title refers to the tendency to see patterns between seemingly random things, which is fitting for the vignette-based storytelling structure. The AI-obsessed Duke (Aaron Holliday) uses an app to create nefarious deepfake videos as a form of sabotage and revenge. He’s the string that ties the three narratives together, starting with the blue-haired Poppy (Simran Jehani), who invites driver Texas Tim (Will Brandt) to party with her group of friends in the desert. However, one such deepfake video turns their exciting night into a fight for survival.

Duke’s pride and unchecked sense of entitlement are to blame for the story’s chaos. He loudly berates a coffee shop worker after the touchscreen asks if he’d like to tip, and fellow blunt customer Lazzy (Paige Searcy) isn’t having it. Enter the second vignette, where she lives in fear after an AI video of her using racial slurs hits the internet. 

These inconsistent tales unfold into a rousing final act at Clinto Binto’s (Sean Gunn) house. His cosplay-making business isn’t so typical — he justifies hefty prices with high-quality materials that bring fantasy into reality. When Duke can’t afford Clinto’s services, he’s yet another deepfake target. Everyone is forced to face the consequences of Duke’s actions during what started as an ordinary night, but it soon unravels into a bonkers conclusion packed with loads of gore.

The three vignettes are tonally messy. While they connect narratively, they’re rhythmically fragmented. The most compelling character attributes aren’t fully utilized in Piliero’s cringe comedy, nor in the crescendo structure of each story. The clear admiration for Pulp Fiction, but without strong character motivations, leads to ones that are alienated from the greater narrative at work. Bouts of situational and physical gags work, especially as ridiculous deaths are cranked to the max.

Despite Appofeniacs’s focus on AI, the beastly practical effects crank up the gross-out moments to another level. The narrative spreads itself thin across too many characters who get lost in the mix, with some rough-around-the-edges cinematography and performances in the first vignette. Yet, it improves over the course of the movie. There isn’t anything new said on AI horrors, but Piliero clinches an explosive, crowd-pleasing conclusion that opens the blood-soaked floodgates with glee.

Rating: 3/5

Appofeniacs played at Fantastic Fest 2025 on September 20.

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