Aftermath

This really isn't a movie. Hell, there really isn't even a story (nor is there talking). It's just some shock content and an overly long opening credits (around 5 minutes, which is absurd for a 30 minute film). While it's not exactly art it's definitely different. The film concerns a morgue where some morticians are doing autopsies. Later, one of the morticians proceeds to violate a female corpse while he's alone. The film features full-body nudity although I'm not sure if the bodies were fakes, real corpses donated to "the arts", or actors with prosthetic effects. Either way you see full-bodied nudity (both genders).

There's a weirdness to the whole thing. The scene with the morticians just going over their bodies is somewhat surreal. There's a bizarre character development that takes place despite the lack of speech and most of the mortician's face being obscured. His eyes convey his bizarre curiosity as he examines one of the men's naked frames, seemingly stopping on the genitalia. Later on when he starts with the female he seems to gingerly cut free her clothes. He plays with his blade delicately against her skin... then he guts her open. And a little after that the film really starts to get graphic, although I will say that he only uses one hand to examine her... There's a definite progression to the depravity.

It's a film that I wouldn't really think I'd be interested in but there was a certain oddity to this premise. And while the initial legitimate autopsies were harder for me to watch, a morbid curiosity better kept my attention for the second half especially since it was almost downright funny in places. I'm honestly not sure what they were going for with this, though. It's short, it's a little weird, but mostly it's just pointless. All the same it's really not bad and somehow has a strange charm to it. Ultimately it's more silly than disturbing, almost like an angsty teen's attempt to be edgy.

The gore is well done, the production values are top notch. Nacho Cerda is obviously a gifted filmmaker. But this movie did sicken me at the same time, because of how real they made everything look, this is definitely a movie to hide from the kids.

This short film presents in graphic detail the dirty little secret of funeral services. All too often, bodies are mutilated and raped. Karen Greenlee was jailed and became nationally famous for her rampant necrophilia in the 80s. Here, Nacho Cerda presents this topic with a great attention to detail and no sensationalism. The mortician fondles, mutilates, and rapes a corpse after the viewer witnesses a very accurate autopsy. The mortician takes home some souvenirs, pictures for himself and a heart for his dog. That's it, no distractions from the reality of the subject matter. It's not filmed in such a way as to shock the viewer but to present unapologetically the very sickening reality that things like this happen more often than we'd like to believe. The realism is the most disturbing part.

So, what goes on in a morgue after hours ? Non stop 'gore'/sex for half an hour, a very oppressing ambiance ( no dialogues ), the excellent work by Nacho Cerda and his team, make this short worth the 10 I gave it. The making-up is wonderful, you're really convinced you're dealing with real corpses, increasing the malaise Nacho Cerda wanted to create. The autopsies are very well done (although the ones in "Men behind the Sun" and "Camino del Eden", another spanish short about working in a morgue, are more impressive), but it's nothing compared with the scenes of necrophilia.

Never has necrophilia been pushed so far, Aftermath" really ranks the "Nekromantiks" among the Walt Disney movies (I nevertheless enjoyed "Nekromantik").

I also have at end of my tape a Nacho Cerda's interview, plus part of the making of (very interesting, and very needed! ). "Aftermath" was originally a 2h30 movie with more autopsies, and more sex scenes where the only 'non-corpse' actor is extracting silver from teeth he had previously removed, ... Without any spoken words, and having most of his face hidden, this man manages a magnificent performance. He confirms in the interview this was the hardest performance he ever had to make. Shot in 8 days, "Aftermath" due to a lack of time/money was reduced to a '30 min short. Maybe that's a bit disappointing, but for the themes approached (morgue, necrophilia, ... ), it's really THE reference.

Definitely the kind of movie I'm hiding from my parents!

10/10

I first saw this film in 1998 at a film festival in London, and being able to see it on the big screen only added to the experience of seeing it. It begins as a routine autopsy, and you feel a sense of pathos as you follow the procedure, but then the whole thing becomes a little more uncomfortable, and it speaks volumes for the director that he can increase the suspense so subtly. The gore is very well done, and the ending is a masterpiece of queasy endings. The funny thing is, Nacho Cerda is one of the most well-adjusted people I've met, and it's incredible to think that something like this came out of his head. It's a short that is well worth seeing, but be prepared to be disturbed by it.