Here After

Greetings again from the darkness. Screenwriter Sarah Conradt must think mothers possess superhero emotional strength, if we are to judge by her two most recent films - this one and MOTHER'S INSTINCT (also 2024). In this feature film directorial debut from long-time producer Robert Salerno, the mom is really put through the ringer - and we are right there with her.

Claire (Connie Britton, "Nashville", FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, 2004) beams proudly as her fifteen-year-old daughter, Robin (Freya Hannan-Mills), plays piano in church. Claire also rolls her eyes when her ex-husband/Robin's dad (Giovanni Cirfiera) walks in as the performance nears conclusion. We learn Robin has been non-verbal since age 5, yet she's a talented enough pianist to be invited to audition for conservatory.

Claire and Robin have a loving mother-daughter relationship, although Claire seems a bit overprotective at times. Things turn bonkers when Robin is involved in a horrible bicycle accident and is dead for 20 minutes before being miraculously resuscitated at the hospital. Claire is relieved her prayers were answered, however, as so often happens with 'miracles', there's a catch. See, Robin can now speak. Only that's not the catch. Claire begins to notice Robin's personality is nothing like it was before the accident. Is this due to the trauma or something more sinister from beyond? I believe the film's title provides a clue.

Religion is on display throughout the film and in many forms. Also on display is Connie Britton's RWF (in contrast to RBF). Ms. Britton excels at a constantly 'worried' look, and is well cast to play the mother role in a film written by Sarah Conradt. Of course, we do discover why Claire has been carrying around all this guilt. It's also the reason why Robin initially stopped talking at an early age. The final act works off of a tremendously interesting premise, and some will find the execution a bit too artsy for this type of movie, while others will appreciate the approach.

Opening in select theaters and on digital September 13, 2024.

I didn't have any expectations of the movie beforehand. I like the lead actress Connie Britton and the movie description sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try. I felt it was a haunting sort of movie rather than scary. Details slowly unfolded with the use of flashbacks and dialogue. It could have been a predictable movie but I didn't feel it was. It could have ended a few different ways. I liked how it ended. I can understand why some people found this movie slow and not scary. I wouldn't categorize it as a horror. I think it was more of a drama and thriller. I thought the acting was very believable.

I don't think Connie Britton was the right actress for the part. She may be ok for Hallmark but that's not my cup of tea. I think there was a good storyline behind it, it just missed the mark. I wouldn't placed it under horror. Maybe drama. I also could have done without the Italian, I think the accent would have been enough. I hated they used a point she thought children would make things better. Sounds like something from the dark ages. It needed some tweaks. Needing help but not wanting to tell why was annoying but I guess they though the was a big part of the plot. It just needed more. With an actress more suited for the role!

1. Don't see this.

I think someone wrote an OK script, then someone from hollywood, rewrote it to add all the clips you see in the trailer.

Sadly this destroyed the movie.

No direction, except the dumb use of tilted shots - why and when.

During the last 45 mins, I found myself listing failures, acting, directing. Tommaso Basili has his head in hands and I swear, you can see him thinking, why did I take this role???

So the story, plausible, but so much useless information was added, scenes that set up nothing an informed no one of anything - just pointless.

The real crac: it takes 60 mins to get to the story. Then 30 to setup and 5 to finish. All the wrong way round.

Was this a thriller or a horror? Make up was laughable - demons and monsters and religion.

Poor rehash of old material and the co-stars were left with rubbish lines and missed opportunities.

I learned nothing new except that random use of angled camera shot annoys everyone - saved gimmicks for meaningful story events.

A speech impaired girl plays the piano very well and lives with her mother. This girl has an accident during a trip. She is put into a coma. When she wakes up, she starts talking. But she wakes up with anger.

Shortly after the girl's waking scene, the whole movie can be easily predicted. This means that many similar scenarios have been written. The movie could not do anything different from these scenarios.

I personally did not enjoy the movie. Also, in these kinds of movies, there is apology in dreams and making amends, which is pure comedy. I can't say I enjoyed watching it.

There is no sexuality or nudity in the movie.