Let’s face it. Death itself is a terrifying thing. We don’t know when or how we are going to die, only that we will someday. We may live until we are in our 90s or we can die suddenly at a young age without any fulfillment of what we could achieve, whether it be a good job, good health, or total love. Some believe that the spirit doesn’t accept the fact that they have exited the soul after they die, and once we go, are we mournful of what we experienced in life? The new film After.life, written and directed by Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, explores this theme from the point of view of a recently deceased woman and a creepy funeral director that despite its flaws is very effective.
After a horrific car accident, Anna (Christina Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral. Confused, terrified and feeling still very much alive, Anna doesn’t believe she’s dead, despite the funeral director’s reassurances that she is merely in transition to the afterlife. Eliot convinces her he has the ability to communicate with the dead and is the only one who can help her. Trapped inside the funeral home, with nobody to turn to except Eliot, Anna is forced to face her deepest fears and accept her own death. But Anna’s grief-stricken boyfriend Paul (Justin Long) still can’t shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn’t what he appears to be. As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late; Anna may have already begun to cross over the other side.
After.life has a feel that is a combination of Roman Polanski, with his creepy atmosphere, and Dario Argento, with its vivid, colorful portrayal. Wojtowicz-Vosloo has structured a very interesting, well paced story that definitely delivers in the creep factor. It’s not horrific or bloody in any sense, but you’ll feel unnerved once the film is over. This primarily benefits from a fantastic performance by Liam Neeson as Deacon, the funeral director who keeps guard over Anna, but is he merely keeping guard over her or keeping her prisoner? Even we aren’t so sure, but Neeson’s strong conviction and delivery makes this one of his best performances.
The film will gain an amount of controversy as star Christina Ricci spends a good portion of the movie in the nude, and while it is integral to the plot (as the stages of the body between death and preparation for the funeral is told well in detail here) it may distract some from Ricci’s performance, which is good but falls uneven at times. Justin Long is literally playing the same role as he did in Drag Me To Hell, though it’s a much darker tone he comes across. His overreaching emotions provide some of the film’s weakest moments, especially when trying to convince people that Anna is still alive. Chandler Canterbury is a revelation as the 10 year old Jack, a student of Anna’s obsessed with death and who forms a strange bond with Eliot as he prepares Anna for her funeral. It’s a very calm, creepy performance.
The film definitely has some scary moments, particularly in its denouement, where the truth about Anna’s fate is revealed, and done in a very twisted manner. Wojtowicz-Vosloo’s script keeps us guessing and even after the film’s final moments, you are going to scratch your head a little but it will make you think. The film, shot in Lynbrook, New York, looks beautiful, with some simple yet striking visuals etched in solid colors. The funeral home itself looks like it was taken from a 1960s Hammer movie.
After.life is being released by Anchor Bay Entertainment, and is an interesting choice or its library, considering Anchor Bay’s history of horror films. The Blu-ray disc has a few features which consist of Audio Commentary with co-writer and director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, A featurette about the making of the film and the films trailer.
While this is being promoted as “an intense psychological thriller,” its roots are steered in horror and the overall theme will leave you creeped out and thinking of your own mortality. For that, After.life succeeds but it mainly succeeds on the strength of Neeson’s performance. However, Wojotowicz-Vosloo has crafted a solid film and has a bright future ahead of her.
– Alan G. Richter
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
