Fantastic Fest 2025: Appofeniacs Review

Directed by: Chris Marrs Piliero
Written by: Chris Marrs Piliero

Starring:
Aaron Holliday – Duke
Chad Addison – James
Jermaine Fowler – Cedrick
Simran Jehani – Poppy
Paige Searcy – Lazzy
Will Brandt – Texas Tim
Amogh Kapoor – Chase
Michael Abbott Jr. – Banks
Sean Gunn – Clinto Binto
Harley Bronwyn – Evie

Image Credit: Fantasia IFF

Running Time: 89 minutes
Not Rated

The world of misinformation is a terrifying one. There’s no better evidence of that than the notion of deepfakes, a technology that has been worrying from the jump but has only gotten worse as it has improved. When you don’t know what’s real and what isn’t anymore, what exactly can you trust and how many horrifying consequences can there be as a result?

That’s the world that Chris Marrs Pilliero presents in Appofeniacs. The tech thriller, which premiered at Fantastic Fest 2025, posits an AI-driven world that is not as far in the future as we might think. Connecting multiple storylines together through the chaos of technological fakery, it’s a harrowing look at how easy it is to manipulate people with something as simple as a smartphone and a grudge.

Appofeniacs helpfully starts with a definition of the titular word as “The tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful patterns between unrelated or random things,” “Confirmation bias,” or “Paranoia.” That sets the stage for our story as James (Chad Addison) sees a sex tape of his girlfriend and a friend. That story will eventually collide with that of Poppy (Simran Jehani), a cosplayer who invites her Uber driver (Will Brandt) over for a little jacuzzi fun in front of her voyeuristic boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Duke (Aaron Holliday) finds himself in a pinch when he tries to buy gear from cosplay costume and prop designer Clinto (Sean Gunn). Duke is low on cash, and after a brief but hostile with barista Lazzy (Paige Searcy), he finds himself confronted by Cedrick (Jermaine Fowler), who has come to collect on a debt. But Duke says he has a plan, and his means to enact that plan will intersect in all of these lives in ways that none of them – Duke included – will suspect.

Piliero has touched on a very topical nerve with Appofeniacs, which deftly jumps from storyline to storyline as it explores the way that deepfakes and AI technology is distorting our world with very real consequences. The story takes a grounded approach to the topic; unlike a number of recent AI horror films, there are no super-robots or ghosts in the machine to plague humanity. This is a more disturbing (and accurate) reality where the technology is strictly under our control and unfortunately, we’re idiots with no idea of the damage we can cause.

Piliero touches on a number of situations that feel like they could easily be ripped from headlines: deepfake porn, racist Karens, institutional paranoia. The razor-sharp script knows exactly what fears to stoke and pokes all those cultural nerves before seeing things through to a potential logical conclusion. It’s all the more terrifying because of the authenticity; it feels very much like a story that could be playing out in real-world Los Angeles (or anywhere else) right now.

The interconnected nature of the stories is well plotted, and while it’s hard to like some of these characters the cast gives it their all. Fowler, Jehani, and Searcy give standout performances, adding nuance to their respective stories that could otherwise have fallen flat. Gunn is having a lot of fun in his supporting role, and Holliday makes for a suitably twitchy antagonist. We’re only getting snapshots of all of these characters, and some of them certainly grate, but it’s enough for us to connect for the purposes of what Piliero is trying to do.

There’s plenty of style here – not a surprise, as Piliero has made an incredibly successful career directing music videos for the likes of Ariana Grande, The Black Keys, and Kesha. The visual look contracts between grungy reality and neon fantasy, punctuated by plenty of brutal moments of violence – one sequence toward the end is particularly madcap in the bloody action. The style adds plenty of fun to what could otherwise be a very self-serious and preachy affair.

Fortunately, Piliero never takes the film in that didactic direction. The message may just boil down to “AI and deepfakes are dangerous,” but it’s an effective message that arguably needs to be expressed in a world were people dismiss the real-world concerns of the tech. It has plenty of thrills and a surprising amount of humor that hits, marking a confident directorial debut.

Fantastic Fest takes place in Austin, Texas from September 19th through the 25th.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Chris Marrs Piliero makes a strong feature directorial debut with Appofeniacs, an entertaining and unnerving thriller about the danger of AI deepfakes. The grounded and interconnected approach to the stories gets added weight from strong performances across the board and enough humor to keep things fun while still setting up shop in the anxiety part of our brains. This is one that will stay with you for a while, and will only get more terrifying as time marches on.