After.Life (2010)

What a beautiful movie!

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Available on Blu-ray Disc (Region B)USA 2009 English (Colour); Horror/Thriller/Drama (Anchor Bay/Lleju/Plum/Constellation); 103 minutes (15 certificate)Crew includes: Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo (Director); Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, Paul Vosloo, Jakub Korolczuk (Screenwriters); Brad Michael Gilbert, William O. Perkins III, Celine Rattray (Producers); Cooper Richey, Pamela Hirsch, Galt Niederhoffer, Catherine Kellner, Edwin L. Marshall, James Swisher (Executive Producers); Anastas Michos (Cinematographer); Ford Wheeler (Production Designer); Niven Howie (Editor); Paul Haslinger (Composer)Cast includes: Christina Ricci (Anna Taylor), Liam Neeson (Eliot Deacon), Justin Long (Paul Coleman), Chandler Canterbury (Jack), Celia Weston (Beatrice Taylor), Josh Charles (Tom Peterson), Shuler Hensley (Vincent Miller)"How can you save yourself if you're already dead?"A discontented schoolteacher (Ricci) wakes up immobile following a serious car accident, to be told by the solemn undertaker who is preparing her body (Neeson) that she is dead and is being helped to cross over to the afterlife, but her grieving boyfriend (Long) will not accept her death and confronts the mortician.Beautifully shot supernatural horror, with a striking prominence of the colour red (Ricci spends much of the movie in just a red slip, or naked), with Neeson bringing an ethereal gravitas to his role of the respectable and (apparently) kindly funeral director - or is he a serial killer?Subtle clues and an ambiguous ending enhance the mystery.Blu-ray Extras: Commentary, Featurette, Trailer. *** (6/10)

This movie is a bit difficult to describe, in that we never completely realize everything. The plot consists of this: after a serious car accident, a young teacher wakes up in a morgue and is informed that she has died. The rest of the film is based on doubts as to whether she's really dead, in her conflicted relationship with her mother, and in her ill-fated romance with her boyfriend. Another thing that hangs in the air but never reveals itself is the real nature of the owner of the mortuary, who may be a man with a gift to speak to the dead or a cold killer. In short, there is a lot here but nothing actually reveals itself, leaving the film in total doubt about most of what we have seen. It's a lukewarm movie, without power or impact. The atmosphere and tension are pleasant, but they never materialize into something. Christina Ricci moans too much and has a voice too soft which makes her a bit annoying. Honestly, she seems horny all the time, and the fact that she appears almost naked in most of the film does not help to undo that impression. Liam Neeson is the best actor here, with a deep, psychologically rich, pleasing and sinister interpretation. Justin Long is fine, but he's too paranoid and superficial.

This movie began with some promise as the actors did a good job with what they were given. However, the plot becomes pretty silly over time and the more interesting story was related to the relationship between Ricci and Long's characters. If it focused on them for half of the film, I would have cared more about their outcomes. In addition, they wasted Nissen's talent and he was not the least bit creepy and was not believable at all. Like many modern movies, it lacks heart and character and the writing is poorly done.

School teacher Anna Taylor (Christina Ricci) and her boyfriend Paul Coleman (Justin Long) are having relationship problems. Anna gets into a car accident and wakes up on the preparation table of funeral director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson). Deacon tells her that she's dead. She's confused and wonders if she's in a ghostly transitional place.This movie has a great premise with horror potential. However, it's more interested in a naked Ricci than building a horror movie. It has some creepy atmosphere but it fails to do anything with it. The ending lacks power. The twists lack intensity. The writers need to come up with some more twists and probably some action to take this great premise to the next level.