Horror movie 'App' encourages viewers to download in-movie app to enhance scares

Seeing the glow from a person checking their cell phone in a movie theatre is an annoying breach of etiquette--normally. Viewers will be encouraged to take out their phones and follow along during the Dutch movie App, which is coming out this April in the Netherlands. Before watching the thriller, which is about a girl who downloads a bad app that unleashes her into a world of trouble, viewers will download the app too, then receive complementary messages and second-screen content throughout the viewing. After watching the Dutch-language trailer for the movie, I'm optimistic. Because the plot centers on a girl's interactions with her mobile phone, there's a strong crossover between the beyond-the-screen elements and what's taking place in the on-screen story.

 

 

Horror movies have always been ripe for beyond-the-screen scares. Famed showman of B-movies William Castle came up with all kinds of gimmicks (including Percepto and seats that buzzed) to entertain audiences and make the movies feel more real (taking out insurance policies in case an audience member died of fright). App producer 2CFilm is just following a long movie theatre tradition with horror movies. Only the technology is different.

In addition to using the relatively new technology of mobile apps to engage audiences, the phone syncs with the on-screen content through digital audio watermarking. This is the same technology that Hollywood studios are using to identify cammed copies of movies. Though the human ear can't hear the audio signature, the app will pick up on it and use those signals to sync with audience members' phones.

The Netherlands may be a good test case to see if audiences like the novelty of following along to a horror movie. Its 110-screen release is huge by the country's standards. Though local content is often a prized rarity in Hollywood-dominated markets, and seeing a movie in a native language gives it a boost, it shouldn't be hard to figure out if audiences are responding to the app. Then, it'll only be a matter of time before the Hollywood remake.