Aftermath

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.

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.

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.

Oft lamented gore short in the same vein as 'Necromantik', though arguably a superior product.

A coroner performers his daily duties of managing the dead, but when the day ends and all others go home the dead are his to do what he pleases.

Timeing in at a mere 30 minutes and lacking any spoken dialogue, the film is very short on story. Aside form a couple quick bits out side of the operating room, the film doesn't concern itself with story details; it already knows exactly what it wants to show you. That being the graphic dismemberment and eventual sexual desecration of the dead. Showing as much of the process as the (very convincing) corpse effects will allow, hardly a detail is spared from view.

The coup de grace is, of course, meant to be the ultimate act of intercourse with a gutted out body, yet that was not the scene that affected me the most. A different scene involving a more real-world process of preparing a cadaver was (to my mind) more disturbing. It was so simple, by the numbers and unemotional, and no matter what I will be there someday.

Technically the film is outstanding. Effective camera use, perfect lighting, and a great use of both music and excellent sound effects. It could be argued that the film needs something resembling a story to further flesh out, and I would both agree and argue against it. Without a deeper story, the gory visuals do lose some emotional impact, but adding to much more would have thrown off the pace and dulled the impact of the film.

Definitely shocking, undeniably well made, but to simple to garner more than a curiosity viewing. Genre fans only please.

8/10