The movie reviewed here is definately NOT for children. Also probably not for people who are not fans of horror.
- GENRE: Thriller, Mystery, Horror
- ACTORS: Liam Neeson, Christina Ricci, Justin Long, Josh Charles, Chandler Canterbury, Celia Weston, Shuler Hensley, Anna Kuchma, Rosemary Murphy, Malachy McCourt, Laurel Bryce, Luz Alexandra Ramos
- RATING: R
- PARENTAL NOTE: Not intended for children. Nudity. Presentation of Death is contrary to Christian beliefs. Bad language and questionable situations. Some violence, but there is little gore or excessive blood. If a behind the scenes look at a funeral parlor (heavily fictionalized) makes you queasy, I don’t think you’ll enjoy the subject matter here.
- INTENDED AUDIENCE: This movie is intended for fans of the genre, and may not be appreciated by others.
- GENERAL PLOT: (No spoilers) A young woman has a fight with her boyfriend, and storms off in her car. She’s killed in a car wreck. Wait. Oh, yes–she’s killed in a car wreck. (?)
- REVIEW: I have no idea why the title of this film has a “dot” in the middle of the name, “After.Life”. This story presents a view of what happens to a young woman after she dies, but before her her funeral. If this concept doesn’t sound like something that would interest you, rest easy. That may not be what the movie is about at all. This is one of those movies that keeps you guessing as to exactly what is happening. The whole presentation is extremely creepy. Which is good for a horror movie. The lead roles in this film are played by Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List, 1993) as the funeral director, and Christina Ricci (Black Snake Moan, 20061; and Addams Family Values, 1993), as the possibly recently departed. I don’t know what corpses really wear while awaiting their funerals, but in the case of Christina Ricci’s character, it is not much. As the story plays out, you are never sure whether she needs to call 911, or just relax and accept her fate. In the end — and despite lots of leads and possibly false leads — there is a strong argument that the central question in the film is never answered.
- RECOMMENDATION:2 This is a horror3 movie. Many people will be highly offended by every movie in this genre. Additionally many people will be offended by the presentation of death in a manner contrary to Christian beliefs. Or maybe not. In any event, this is an interesting story, which is played out well. If you enjoy thoughtful horror, you should appreciate After.Life.
- RATING (out of 5 stars):
MOVIE RATING SYSTEM:
Start with zero (0) out of five (5) possible STARS
- Add one STAR if it looks like the movie was made by professional film makers–not 4 or 5 guys with a camcorder.
- Add one STAR if the film has a story, theme or plot (optional for horror and/or zombie movies); or if the movie makes any sense.
- Add additional STARS for special effects, acting, good moral message(s), realistic zombies, scariness, interesting theme or plot and the like.
- Subtract STARS for extreme bad acting, COMPLETELY awful themes/messages, overall INCREDIBLE trashiness, graphic and persistent lewdness, and the like.
FOOTNOTES:
- Black Snake Moan also stars the top grossing actor of all time, Samuel L. Jackson ↩
- If you wonder why zombie themes and horror films have space on a Christian website like K_Line Christian Online, please see my blog post on point ↩
- Although I label this movie as “horror”, some would call it a thriller or mystery. ↩
