The rapid advancement of AI and its impact on our society can’t be denied. While for some, AI is just a search tool, for others, it can also be a means to a more troubling end. That’s precisely what Appofeniacs, Chris Marrs Piliero’s directional debut, is all about. Strangers who’ve just met briefly are being confronted with deepfakes, AI-generated sex videos and the deadly string of consequences. The result is a movie that, despite feeling disjointed and having a slow start, turns out to be a delightful, stylised, and chaotic horror movie. Geek Vibes Nation spoke to writer/director Chris Marrs Piliero and actors Amogh Kapoor (Chase) and Aaron Holliday (Duke) after the world premiere at FrightFest 2025.
“How People Respond Is Where The Horror Comes From” – Writer/director Chris Marrs Piliero
Geek Vibes Nation: Congratulations on the film. You directed and wrote the movie. Where did the inspiration for the script come from?
Chris Marrs Piliero (writer/director): I’m deeply fascinated and intrigued by AI technology and the human element of perception, certainty, and confirmation bias. Those things are very fascinating, the way we form opinions and truths, and gravitate towards that confirmation bias. I wanted to tell a story, and I used deepfakes as the catalyst.
The film revolves around the creation of these deepfakes. However, the core of the story is how humans react and respond, and how all the horror, disaster, catastrophe, and chaos stem from the human reaction and response to the deep fakes, rather than the AI technology itself being flawed. The AI technology is just there, and people are using it; how people respond to it is where the horror comes from.
GVN: In your opinion, what are one positive and one negative aspect of AI in the film industry?
CMP: Well, there’s a million positives and a million negatives. There are many positives. Once the fear subsides and rules, contracts, and agreements are properly implemented, people in the industry who are initially apprehensive about it will be excited to discover what AI can do. For example, if an actor can contractually get compensated for small things that they don’t want to or can’t make the time for. For example, when a director goes, “Oh, we just have to shoot this over your shoulder.” Now, an actor, let’s say, a big-time actor, says, “You’re not even going to see my face and you want to shoot this over my shoulder?” Things like that, where, if it’s contractually compensated correctly, I’m sure that many actors will love the idea of “just AI me over the shoulder, correctly pay me, and then we’re good to go.” AI can streamline the filming process.
Where it can and will be problematic is when studios or large companies, such as production companies or studios, want to abuse it and replace the actor or personnel without compensation. Like, that’s where it’s going to be very problematic. That’s where agreements and unions need to make sure that there are those protections.
Once they find a way to lock in those protections, there will be a lot of really cool stuff that they will really love and embrace. It’s exciting. It’s unknown. I know the unknown can be scary, and there’s plenty of it that I fear. But I also try to be an optimist, and I like to see the potential of it where it can be really, really cool. On the negative side, replacing people, actors, and voice actors without properly compensating them is likely to be detrimental.
GVN: What was your favourite scene to shoot and how did it look on set?
CMP: I had a lot of fun scenes. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’ll say this. There’s one particular scene that involves gallons of blood. I wanted to shoot as much practical as possible. There are slight enhancements here and there to the gore, but the majority of it is practically shot, which I really wanted to achieve. It’s more fun that way.
I feel like on set, it’s the actors and crew, everyone; you experience it more when it’s actually happening. To create a particular scene, our special effects team used a device that blasts out gallons of blood, which is a lot of fun. There were some really fun, cool shots that we got out of that that weren’t planned, where we put the camera in a specific spot, and the blood just ended up covering the lens.
While we were shooting that, I was just like, “Oh, fuck yeah, this looks so cool.” That wasn’t the intention, but that was just a beautiful moment that we got. It was getting all that blood everywhere. That was filmed in my house, so it was fun to see my dining room coated in blood. The wall, the ceiling, there’s still blood on the ceiling of my dining room, which is quite a sight. It’s a little keepsake.
The Level Of Acting You Saw Was Truly Exceptional – Actor Amogh Kapoor
Geek Vibes Nation: Congratulations on the film. What was it about the script that made you want to do this project?
Amogh Kapoor (actor): I think the script offered an opportunity that a lot of scripts don’t offer South Asian actors specifically. As an Indian actor, it’s very easy to get typecast in Hollywood. You have your engineers, your doctors, but this was a script that was so free. To be a character that literally anyone can play and that can be everyone’s friend. Honestly, Chase is there to have a good time, and that’s what I do, so that’s my motto. It just looked like a good time, especially in the house when everything goes wild.
GVN: How were those days of shooting when everything just goes crazy in the house?
AK: Honestly, those people on screen are my real friends, so everything you saw was a labour of love, it was joy, it was comedic. Additionally, the level of acting you saw was truly exceptional. We were lifting each other up on set, and it was a pleasant experience.
GVN: This film primarily focuses on AI. What are one positive and one negative aspect of AI in the film industry for you?
AK: I’m an optimist; let’s start with the positive one first. AI could help us take that next step. Often, the first step is the hardest. You have an idea. Many of us are entrepreneurs; we have an idea, and then that idea drifts away. AI allows us to capitalise on the concept and potentially explore it further, and I believe that’s a great tool. And the negative side is that my job is at risk. You may never see me act again. You could probably download my face and make it happen. It’s so scary, because for the love of cinema, for the love of what we do, this is like the villain, right? And when combating it, we really have to trust that the world will understand that true art is human; we want to keep it human, so that’s why we fight.
GVN: For the people who love cinema, who love coming to see the films, why should they come to see the movie?
AK: People who love cinema, you get everything in this, right? This is my first time watching the film, too, so I was thoroughly entertained. I’m here with my family members, and they aren’t necessarily the biggest lovers of horror, but they sat through it and enjoyed it. They loved it. This movie is genuinely made for everyone, whether you’re a horror lover or not. If you’re a horror lover, you’re going to love it even more, obviously. But this is a film for everyone.
You Might Learn A Trick Or Two On How To Be The Biggest Asshole Possible – Actor Aaron Holliday
Geek Vibes Nation: Congratulations on the film. Your character isn’t the kindest one, to say the least. How was it playing him?
Aaron Holliday: It was really fun to let that darker, evil side out. It doesn’t have to happen every day, but to be able to go on these ridiculous rants and to have the incel type behaviour was fun. He’s a menace to play, and to be able to ramble and rant and chain-smoke and be a total douchebag is really fun. It was so fun, because his attitude is just something that I would be scared of. It was almost a little form of therapy.
GVN: What was it about the script, apart from the character, that made you want to do this film?
AH: What it’s about feels very relevant in a very original way. It’s about not politicians and this worldwide sort of manipulation, or taking famous people’s faces or likenesses. It’s just everyday people being able to destroy the lives of other regular, everyday people completely. To me, that’s more terrifying than the more talked-about dangerous AI. That was an interesting take I hadn’t seen it.
GVN: There’s like a very nasty table scene in this film. It looked both terrifying and amazing. How was that to film?
AH: It’s fucking insane. That was also a part where I was like, “Oh, okay, that’s really fun. I would love to see that”. I’m not sure if you can see it in the film, but we’re sitting at a children’s table because the director thought it would be amusing that my character has a children’s table in his house. So we’re sitting at this kid’s table, so when they had the prosthetic glued to the table, I had to hold down the table as I was pushing myself up because I was lifting the kid’s table off the floor, cause it’s so light and small.
GVN: Why should people watch this film?
AH: It has all your wants for a horror, and it’s sharp. The script is good, it’s funny, it’s disgusting, it’s scary, and you might learn a trick or two on how to be the biggest asshole possible.
Read our Appofeniacs review here.
Subtitle translator by day. Film journalist by night.
