You Die

 (2018) [Italian] **1/2

REVIEW BY JPX

After lending a distressed male stranger her cellphone, Asia later discovers that he downloaded an augmented reality app which gives her the ability to see ghosts; some standing around, others walking slowly towards her.  The app also includes a countdown clock counting down 24 hours.  Asia soon deduces that the app is a curse and she will be killed by vengeful spirits unless she downloads the app onto someone else’s phone.  This does not end the curse, however, it only buys her an additional 24 hours. She must download the app every 24 hours onto another’s phone if she wants to live.  When she attempts to delete the app she loses 1 hour.  She is informed that she will be instantly killed if she destroys her phone. 

You Die is a fun curse movie with obvious nods to The Ring and It Follows.  The “curse” in this particular story poses a moral dilemma; would you download the app onto another’s phone in order to buy yourself 24 hours of additional life?  (My answer, of course, is a resounding yes).  The story is also an obvious indictment of our societal phone addiction.  For example, in one scene friends watch a movie on a couch while one of the characters plays on her phone the entire time (a major pet peeve of mine).  Although derivative, this film looks good and there is always something about foreign language horror that makes things seem scarier (e.g. every Asian horror movie).  Fun!