AfterDeath

I enjoyed the first part of the movie, but it veers off course regarding very basic Christian beliefs. However, it was still an interesting movie. I was hoping it would be thought provoking. It looked like it had potential, but then fell flat on its face.

I like sci-fi movies too, where the speed of light gets broken all the time and I can suspend my belief system to enjoy the movie. But Afterdeath got it so wrong it destroyed the movie even during the movie.

Minor Spoiler:

I thought it might provoke interesting ideas. Instead it completely ignores biblical teachings that Christ died for our sins and that many sinners do go to Heaven.

That about says it. It's a GORGEOUS cinematic movie, basically people wash up on a beach, later another woman does, through clues in their cabin which was custom made to make them comfortable - They find out clues that they're dead, and where they're all going and why. Then they start exploring the world they're in, and realizing all is shown in paintings. They trap one of the black smoke creatures that come around, and get a few answers. But honestly, at the end of the film, I'm not sure I believe what the girl is hoping is going to happen is. It's such an un- fulfilling ending, but maybe someone less tired than I was will get a better ending.

I was very unsure of what to rate this film. As a pure and simple movie it was well done: good acting, decent pace, good FX. Even the premise is promising. However, throughout there seems to be a lot of man-hating, and the end is about as hubristic as one can get. I can only conclude this was written by someone who is still bitter from a strict religious upbringing. The last line in the film seems to sum up its message of despair. Thus I settle on a solid 4. It could have been so much better.

For a better "purgatorial" film, I recommend "Kingdom Come" (2014), which has a much better theological logic to it.

Interesting little low budget affair with an intriguing premise unfortunately undone by the simple fact that the screenplay is filled with many clever "thoughts" passing themselves of as "ideas". It is to be highly commended, though, for seriously trying to be about larger issues even if it hasn't really worked any of them out yet, and ultimately doesn't make sense or hold up to any sort of intellectual scrutiny. This doesn't mean it is not interesting or holds your attention - it manages to do that even as it sometimes feels a little slow or inert. In all fairness, few films that aspire to be about the workings of an Afterlife, and the role of God and human frailty within that context, manage to be deeper than A: questioning for questioning sake, or B: comprised of rather random rules that are never questioned by anyone in the film - and, by extension, the filmmakers themselves. In this case the logical (or theoretical) inconsistencies increase the longer the film goes on trying to resolve its Twilight Zone like set-up, but at least it doesn't cop out and settle for a simplistic summing up or "twist". Performances range from good to totally acceptable - no one has anything to be ashamed of on that front; even the initially Hollywood-esque notion that only five attractive people would be in the house is explained away later that they appear as "idealized" versions of themselves. Effects are obviously low budget, but not distracting.

AfterDeath- is an intelligent existential twist on a Horror film. Relying less on "Jump Scares" it packs a more psychological punch.

5 people wake up in the middle of nowhere realizing that they are unable leave - and that this is all some sort of punishment for the lives they have lead. At first it seems like not much of a punishment- but when 5 "bad" people are trapped together BAD things start to happen. The cast is talented, pretty and fun to look at, but it is the ugliness of their actions that keeps you watching.

I found myself still thinking about some of the questions brought up in the film, days after.