After.Life

Schade, dass sich After.Life darum bemüht, ein spannender und geheimnisvoller Genre-Film wie von Hitch oder Shy zu sein. Leider reicht es ihm nicht, "nur“ als ein beunruhigendes Kammerdrama zu wirken. Mit der perfekten visuellen Seite, einer soliden Geisteratmosphäre und mit interessanten Gedanken über den Ort zwischen Leben und Tod gelingt es ihm nämlich großartig, die Neugier des Publikums zu reizen. (30.08.2011)

Christina Ricci has a row with her boyfriend Justin Long, runs angrily to her car and dies in an accident. Her body is taken to a mortuary, where the charismatic owner Liam Neeson prepares it for the funeral, and when Christina wakes up, Liam is not surprised at all. That’s basically the whole plot and the rest of the film makes you wonder whether Neeson has the “gift” to speak with the dead and help them, or whether he’s insane. Fortunately, the debuting director has enough talent and this slow graveyard story never gets boring. After.Life has a very interesting atmosphere, one that I’m unable to compare to anything (it’s as strange as Ricci is strangely beautiful). In short, a very well made and very well acted horror film (though mysterious thriller would be more accurate). (20.07.2010)

Selbst nach dem Tod hat man keine Ruhe. Oder nach dem Leben? Na ja, es ist eigentlich ziemlich egal, wenn man schon auf dem "Brett" liegt, nicht wahr? Dieser Film hat mich so ähnlich wie The Rite - Das Ritual mit Anthony Hopkins überrascht. Das, was diese beiden Filme gemeinsam haben, ist die solide Stimmung, das Drehbuch, welches voll von interessanten Gedanken und Fragen ist, und die Schauspielleistung der Hauptfigur. Liam Neeson hat den kalten und sorgfältigen Bestatter toll dargestellt. Ich wage zu behaupten, dass mit einer anderen Besetzung (z. B. mit dem ursprünglich vorgesehenen Alfredo Molina) ein großer Teil der seltsamen Wirkung gefehlt hätte. Ein Lob haben auch Christina Ricci und natürlich die Regisseurin verdient, auf die in der Zukunft schöne Dinge warten könnten. Meine 3,5 Sterne runde ich auf. (26.09.2011)

I treated myself to a rewatch of this movie today, and I have no regrets whatsoever. Liam Neeson delivered a much better performance here than in his later roles as the perpetual avenger in movies with predictable plots. Christina Ricci also showcased her talent, and though she might not fit the conventional beauty mold for me, I've always found her incredibly interesting and attractive. I didn't pay much attention to the other characters because the duo mentioned above effortlessly carried the entire film. I find myself wondering what Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin would think of the unique development of his idea. As for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this chamber-morbidly-twisted-psychological piece, especially since I recognize several symptoms in myself that Anna also exhibited: being rather cold, having a faint pulse, feeling little pain, and possessing documents proving my death; so now I keep glancing over my shoulder, half-expecting flies, gravediggers, vultures, undertakers, or taxidermists to come my way. / Lesson learned: Stab every dead person in the heart with a wooden stake. Just to be on the safe side. (20.07.2022)

When compared to the also recent debut of Michael Lander and his Peacock, After.Life rates a bit higher in the overall totals. Both films have an interesting (and in the case of After.Life quite original) story and a decent atmosphere, but at the same time they fail to develop the story in such a way that they are able to impress as a whole and not "merely" with their individual parts (the cast is excellent in both cases – even more stellar in the case of Peacock; a few chilling moments can also be found in both films, and the direction is not completely without ideas...)) After.Life is a better mystery thriller with a few horror moments, which in the current production leaves quite an original impression – I just still can't get rid of the feeling that it could have been even better. 70-75% (01.10.2010)