Appofeniacs" Trailer (2025)

The trailer for 'Appofeniacs' opens with a voice that describes the power of artificial intelligence with a calculated coldness: "We can open an app, type a few words, and it'll spit out something indistinguishable from real life." That line encapsulates everything the film wants to explore: the ease with which deepfake technology can become a weapon, and the chaos it unleashes when it falls into the wrong hands. The trailer combines moments of direct tension with flashes of dark humour, a tone that oscillates between menace and absurdity, and which defines the particular register of this psychological horror production.

The film marks the feature-length debut of Chris Marrs Piliero, who also wrote the screenplay. Piliero has spent years following the evolution of video falsification technology since he first encountered it in 2018, and that sustained interest is the seed from which 'Appofeniacs' grew. The result is a horror thriller with science-fiction elements that places digital manipulation at the centre of its plot: a character named Duke sets off a chain of deepfakes without considering the consequences, and the trailer offers a glimpse of how that spiral of deception escalates into violence. The final line of the trailer — "That was horrible" followed immediately by "That was incredible" — sums up the moral ambivalence that runs throughout the entire project.

The cast is led by Aaron Holliday and Jermaine Fowler, with Sean Gunn, Michael Abbott Jr., and Will Brandt completing the principal ensemble. The production was handled by Odin's Eye Entertainment, and filming took place in Los Angeles.

'Appofeniacs' had its world premiere at FrightFest in the UK on 22nd August 2025, and its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest on 20th September of the same year. It has also screened at the FilmQuest Festival.