Aftershock

Set in Chile after a nightmarish earthquake. A group of terrorists find themselves in a dire situation when the prisoners break out of jail and begin to take advantage of the situation. Most films set around disasters tend to focus on the positive outcomes of humanity. The way we come together even though strangers and assist each other in our greatest time of need. But after hearing the news reports of what happened in New Orleans after Katrina it makes a compelling case for a film maker to explore the darkest side of humanity. And as an exploration of that theme Aftershock mildly works moving from one situation to the next. Exploring the negative ways individuals could react. The theme is intriguing and thought provoking from a single mother defending her two children, to a rich man's empathy for his friend and the various ways people actually crack under pressure in the most despicable ways. I only wish the film makers just focused on those things, had a higher budget and delivered a more polished product. But what we have here is mostly a missed opportunity. Despite some decent character development and some nice moments dramatically the film is filled with unintentionally funny performances, seems to have been cut together with the subtly of a chainsaw and is very sloppily made due in some part to the high concept dumbed down by the obvious budgetary constraints. There is also a sub plot involving orphans that leads to an unexpectedly silly and offensive climax. There's a lot of negatives here but I can't say that I hated the movie at all. It's certainly an original film and makes some intriguing points sadly it's bogged down by the amateurness of the production overall and a controlling need to try and make the proceedings entertaining which they never are.So if you've seen taht nifty red band trailer that looks utterly ridiculous and like a lot of fun you're in for a much different experience indeed for better and worse. 3/5

I won't recap the plot, because other reviewers have done it much better than I could. But I do want to express that I feel this was an absolutely brilliant movie by a wonderful and talented newcomer, Nicolas Lopez, with the collaboration of established master Eli Roth.

We'd all like to think (or hope) that everybody will be philanthropic and kind in the face of disaster, but this film shows us the frightening reality of human nature. When you're injured and in pain and terrified you maybe won't meet kind helping hands - you could just as likely meet looters, sadists and rape squads. I've been a traveller my whole life, and I know from personal experience how close the border is between middle-of-the-night drunken fun and horrifying death when you're far from home.

I'm very conservative with my grading at IMDb, but I think this film deserves a rare 10 out of 10.

A group of friends in Chili hit up the night clubs for some fun. A massive earthquake hits and destroys half the city, releasing the prisoners that end of unleashing more destruction and hell in the streets.

An interesting concept that tries to blend the disaster genre with the horror genre. The result is a mixed bag of depravity, low budget effects & set-ups and hatred for the so called characters we are suppose to engage with. Aftershock doesn't care about much, it wants to throw everything and the kitchen sink at you. This film reminds me a lot of Kevin Smith's "Red State" in that it subverts genres and goes in different directions just when you think you know what is going to happen next. While I admire Smith's pulling of the rug from under our feet, Aftershock never manages to reach the same level. Instead it is stuck in this redundant pool of lukewarm unnecessary-ness.

Eli Roth produces and stars in the film, I've always said he should stay behind the camera because his on screen talent is severely lacking. Yet he always finds himself in front of the camera, making himself seem more important than he should be. Roth has some good films under his belt, he without a doubt knows the genre of horror. He needs to stick to producing and directing. Get more unique horror films out there, stop worrying about the Roth who acts, cause no one cares.

What the film lacks in special effects in makes up for in absurdity. Here is a film that is about destruction, yet it chooses (mainly because they have to) showcase the aftermath. The scenes of chaos happen in tight close ups, shaky cam and whatever else they can think of to disorient the viewer from seeing anything. It seems they saved the budget in the special effects department for the final shot, which one can see coming once the character gets to that location, yawn.

Aftershock loves to put characters in bad situations, then kick them when they are down. It might be hard to watch for some people. The film has no problem having one character be raped twice, then shot. This is after another one has been burned alive. This is the so called twist in the film, when we stop focusing on the destruction from mother earth and are focused on human nature. These characters aren't even the prisoners though, these are random street thugs or what have you, that see the women in the streets and decide to chase after them, thus ensuring a lot of death and sorrow for the characters the film has taken so long to set up.

No, we don't get any prisoner action until the final act of the film, which takes another turn with another twist. One that will have you scratching your head in confusion, but Aftershock is too crazy and absurd, that you end up just going with it.

This isn't much of a disaster flick, nor does it seem to be good horror. It's a low budget miss- match of bad taste.

The movie starts with the setup we've all seen a billion times before: Some guys. Are annoying. Horny. Some girls. Are annoying. Horny. Have party. Drink. Try to sex. Good times. Then suddenly... an earthquake!

The tone shifts drastically and the world around them goes to hell in a hand-basket real quick. Decimated architecture, riots in the streets, prisoners escaping, warnings of an incoming tsunami, every man for himself, and no one is safe. Anyone can meet their untimely end when you least expect it, just like a real life disaster.

This may sound like an intense and nihilistic experience, but beneath the surface, the film sticks to the usual horror movie rules and holds back too much to be a truly effective shocker. In other words, it feels too "Hollywoodized". There's also a dumb twist towards the end. Even still, there's just enough carnage here to satisfy undemanding lovers of cinematic slime. A natural disaster movie that puts most of it's focus on animalistic human behavior rather than the flashy special effects could, and should, have been a lot better.

I would not call this a horror film. A dark disaster film is more appropriate. The film is fun, lively and well done and acted. If not for a oddly timed and inappropriate character reveal that just makes you scratch your head and go huh? It was fun. The reveal was not even needed, especially when it did happen. It literally took me out of the film until it was resolved.

If your looking for something on the dark end, with horror type feel then check it out. It was good. It flowed really well and made sense how the characters got from one place to another. Well structured and honest.