APPOFENIACS Interview: “When You Are Using That Much Practical Effects, It Can Be Messy.”

The APPOFENIACS cast and director discuss the film’s timely AI horror, incredible practical effects, and memorable moments at Fantastic Fest.

There’s no shortage of great movies at Fantastic Fest, but every year a few stand out from the pack. One of those in 2025 is APPOFENIACS, a new horror from writer/director Chris Marrs Piliero. With a clever, timely premise and a fresh take on the genre, it’s one of the best films of the festival and a must-see for anyone who loves clever horror.

Tessa Smith from Mama’s Geeky and Rachel Leishman from The Mary Sue sat down with Chris Marrs Piliero and actors Aaron Holliday, Michael Abbott Jr., and Paige Searcy, and Simran Jehani during the film festival. We discussed the timely nature of an AI horror film, how the movie focuses on the human element of technology, and the incredible practical effects that bring the film’s brutal kills to life. We also talked about our favorite weapons from film and television.

On The Timeliness Of APPOFENIACS

Rachel Leishman: I love that APPOFENIACS came out at a time when everyone is currently using AI to make it seem like they met their favorite actor. It’s so weird, but also what a movie to come out at that time. How exciting is it to be putting out a horror movie about AI at a time where everyone’s just using it for the dumbest reason?

Chris Marrs Piliero: I mean, that’s part of the reason for the timing. Yeah, no, I mean, it was just one of those things that I’m really fascinated with this technology. I’ve been tracking it, and so as the idea floated in my head and once it finally clicked, I was just like, I need to move full force with this because I see how quickly it’s moving. So, I wanted to make sure that I was getting the film complete so that way I could try and release it around the time that this is happening because, yeah, I just kind of saw the trajectory of it and how it was playing out.

You’re saying that right now a lot of people are using it for bullshit stuff with posing with a celebrity and whatnot. I mean, the amount of deepfakes I’ve seen of people pretending that they’ve met Michael Abbott Jr. is just insane. I think that that bullshit kind of use of it kind of speaks to an element of the film in the sense that there is the grander scope of how this can be used and politically, globally, the impact it can have, but also just on a smaller level, how easy it is to create an image of you with Michael Abbott Jr. with boobs. To that effect, you can easily do that to fuck with somebody. It’s so easy and so realistic, and it’s wild that we all have that power in our phones.That blows my mind. I mean, I spend time just, like, sitting at home talking to myself about just, like, not really talking to myself, but thinking. 

The amount of times I’ve actually caught myself thinking about how crazy it is that, like, we use these phones. They’re so fucking powerful, and we have no idea how they work. And it’s just wild how crazy this technology is and how just easily we just use it and recklessly and with no regard to who’s on the receiving end of it. I think also a lack of appreciation of it makes it almost, like, leans towards using it frivolously because of the fact that we don’t appreciate or really understand. kind of find that fascinating, and just how easy it is just to create something to trick someone. And so the story is just focusing on more of the human element of it. Technology is an important catalyst, but I make a point of, like, spending very little screen time on that actual aspect and more so on how we look at that, how we respond, and how the next person’s going to react and respond to that and then have fun with, like, kind of, you know, turning the dial up to 11 and taking reality and just kind of having fun with it of how crazy things can get.

Simran Jehani: Well, what I would say has been so fun, just to add on to that a little bit, is, like, everyone who’s seen the movie has something that they can relate to in their lives that they’ve experienced with AI or deepfake videos, and everyone is going through it right now. So it just seems like it came at a perfect time for everyone to hopefully take heed from it.

Aaron Holliday: Again, no famous people, no politicians, that’s not what this is about, which is, I feel like, so much of what you see. Or those cat AI TikToks, you know, I get addicted to those, or the gorilla ones. Have you seen the gorilla one with the bow? So you can get caught up in those and, you know, have a laugh, but I think what makes this film so unique in its way and so fucking scary is that it is everyday life, and it is attacking everyday people. And just as easily as somebody can leave a hateful comment on an Instagram photo, now people can use your face to send your friends or family that they don’t know a video of you doing something horrible to them, or whatever they want. And they’re not necessarily this evil supervillain sitting in their lair, right? They won’t even think about it five minutes later. And that’s the scariest part.

On Creating A Different Type Of Villain

Tessa Smith: One of my favorite parts about it is that the villain in APPOFENIACS is just a dick. He’s not like a slasher killer, he’s just an ass. He’s like, “This person did something terrible, I’m gonna create this video and mess with their day.” And that’s it.

Aaron Holliday: Unhinged. Or just, “I’m annoyed that this person is having more fun than me,” and “I wish I had their life, really.” So it’s pretty scary.

Tessa Smith: It’s crazy because it could fully happen in real life. And probably does.

Chris Marrs Piliero: It absolutely does, and it will more and more. And it’s going to be interesting to see how we even navigate that. Because with our whole confirmation bias, which is what the apathy and aspect of it plays into, something that I’m really interested to see is, as this becomes more mainstream, and as people, as a society, as we totally accept that these things exist, then there’s going to have to be something that is put into place to help us figure out what is real and what is not. I feel like at that point, we’re in this downward spiral where, even if someone tells you, “I’ve created something that can tell you whether or not this is real or fake,” we’re going to have so much distrust that you’re not even going to believe the thing that’s telling you whether or not you can believe this.

On the Film’s Practical Effects

Tessa Smith: I do want to mention the practical effects. Can you guys talk about, because those are amazing. Anyone can talk about an experience with it without spoiling anything.

Chris Marrs Piliero: I’ll give a shout out to Alyssa Holbrook, Allie Shehorn, and Ingrid Weeks, who are our trio of special effects team. They did an incredible job. This is an indie film. This was a scrappy indie film. I cannot stress that enough. They brought it. They were so committed and passionate about this film and making sure that those moments all looked awesome. They worked their ass off and did such a great job. I want to give a shout out to our VFX team as well. It definitely is a team effort as far as what they both put into it. They both did a very great job of enhancing and whatnot, making all those moments work.

There is a lot of practical. There are certain moments that the VFX team went in and made something really cool. There are certain moments that you wouldn’t think that are completely practical and they are, which is really awesome. They did such a cool job. It was really important for me to try and stay on a lot. There are certain moments I really wanted to try and make it as uncomfortable as possible. It looked so cool. They did such a great job. I wanted to stay on it. There are shots we stay on for a good amount of time. That shit is practical. Our special effects team killed it.

Aaron Holliday: A testament to everybody working together so well because it is a true indie. We did not have that many takes and we couldn’t reset these practical effects many times. Sometimes not even more than once. It was a testament to everybody being on their A-game and making this happen. It was rare that we had more than two takes. There are multiple moments of one take. When you are using that much practical effects, it can be messy. It can be nerve-wracking. As an actor, you see all of this preparation and everyone working for hours and then it is on you to deliver this one and you have to deal with something that isn’t part of your body. It is a different entity.

On Favorite Fictional Weapons

Rachel Leishman: When you have a cosplayer character it means there are some pretty cool weapons you get to use in APPOFENIACS. If you got to use any weapon from a movie or TV show, what would you have someone create for you?

Paige Searcy: I love archery. A bow and arrow of some sort. Hunger Games, Hawkeye. Maybe a bow and arrow she can shoot across the world. Something wild like that.

Simran Jehani: I don’t know if mine is technically considered a weapon. I am just trying to be different. She is like Diana. Oh my god. My presence. I think it would have to be Wolverine’s claws that come out of there. It is inside of the body. I guess he is weaponized in a way. I would love that because I love using my hands like that and getting up close and personal if I am going to be attacking someone. That is about me. That is what I would use.

Aaron Holliday: I love love love love Zelda. Link and his sword is a dream of mine. That is all I got to say.

Michael Abbott Jr.: This is a weird question. I think maybe Edward Scissorhands or Freddy Krueger. I like the glove. I like the blades on the fingers. These things all scare me. Horror freaks me out. I am gentle and have nightmares. I like the idea of Freddy Krueger or Edward Scissorhands.

Chris Marrs Piliero: I would say that I love the scene in Little Shop of Horrors where Steve Martin has a dentist. I would take those tools that he is using and take that to another level.

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