Review: After.Life (2009)

After.Life

IMDB rate: 5,9

Genre: Supernatural, Thriller

After.Life might seem like a video game at first, because of the dot in the middle. I can assure you that it's just a movie. It's a very confusing movie in which you can make up your own mind about the truth. These movies always have some things in it that don't really fit which make you question everything all over again. The first time I saw After.Life I thought it was a strange movie, but now I've seen it again I like it a bit better, but it's still a bit confusing. 

After a horrific car accident, Anna (Christina Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral direction Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral. Confused, terrified and feeling still very much alive, Anna doesn't believe she's dead, despite the funeral director's reassurances that she is merely in transition the the afterlife. Eliot convinces her he has the ability to communicate with the dead and is the only one who can help her. Trapped inside the funeral home, with nobody to turn to except Eliot, Anna is forced to face her deepest fears and accept her own death. But Anna's grief-stricken boyfriend Paul (Justin Long) still can't shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn't what he appears to be. As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late; Anna may have already begun to cross over the other side.

So the plot evolves around Anna who is the funeral home, not sure if she's alive or dead. Eliot Deacon says he has the gift for seeing death people and many things suggest that she is indeed dead. The entire movie you keep guessing what the truth is and every time you think you you've figured it out, something will happen that makes you think otherwise, again.

The acting in this movie is very good. But I don't like Christina Ricci as an actress. Even in this movie, she plays a bitch, she's a huge ass to her sweet boyfriend for no good reason and well, you just don't give a damn about her to be honest. I do think that many male watchers enjoy her presence in this movie though, since she's naked most of the time ;).

Justin Long does play his part very well, I do enjoy him more in a comedy but he did a good job. His character is very sweet and because of him you keep wondering if Anna is dead or not. Liam Neeson plays a very different role compared to his usual roles, I do think he did a good job, but I'm not sure if the role really suited him.

A thing that did bother me was when Paul finally was close the Anna and he called her name, she did not respond. The first time she kept screaming while he was far away, and when he's at her door she doesn't do anything. Sure, that's what kept the mystery going but even when you know you're dead I think it's an impulse to call your loved one.

The movie is a bit slow at point, this is also because you want to know the answer, and with all the dialogue and stuff, the answer doesn't come very fast. The dialogues were a bit confusing at some points. 

!Spoilers!

When the movie was finished I figured that Anna was dead. Although there were still some doubts, I made up my mind and decided that they just make it appear like she's alive. But I still was quite curious what the truth was. So I searched IMDB and there it was! The director said that Anna is actually alive the entire time. One of the clues was the breath on the mirror, we saw it all, but it still makes you doubt, because everything after and before that moment proves that she's death. Another clue is that Eliot Deacon gives Anna injections with the given reason that it makes her skin shine, a fact is that injections have no use when there is no blood flow. There's also said by a cop that there are injections that can slow the heartbeat that much that someone can appear dead. He gives the name of the injection and apparently the name is shown on one of the injections. 

When I read this, the entire movie changed for me. At first you think the movie is about a dead girl who can't accept her destiny, but when you figure out that she was alive the entire time, you suddenly see Eliot Deacon as a psychopath. Eliot Deacon is in fact comparable with Jigsaw, because at one point, he gives them a change to escape, but apparently, nobody ever goes away because they're that much into believing they're death. He gives a second change to person who don't appreciate their life.  It's an excellent plot twist, and knowing this, it made me appreciate the movie a lot more.

!End of Spoiler!

This movie is one that not everybody can appreciate. You need to be patient and go through a lot of confusing dialogues, also, you need to be focused the entire time to figure out the truth. It's nice to figure the answer out for yourself in the end, when you made up your mind, the entire movie changes. The acting is good and there is an interesting plot.

My personal rate: 7/10