Watch After... For Free

Such a frustrating disappointment

Sadly Over-hyped

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

I only recall one review where the kidnapping element was mentioned. The Russian woman in the park was both the suspect and the reason for the whole haunted "trip to Russia" during his parachute-less suicide. And a song with several versions bearing the title "Hellbound Train" pretty well sums up his final ride. Our Judeo-Christian culture has always taught that suicide is the ultimate slap in the face to God, and deserving of eternal punishment. He took his own life, and left his pregnant girlfriend behind and alone to raise his child. He was the lead character, but far from a hero. This is not sci-fi or horror, but almost a morality play with special effects. A weird but nifty combo.

Erratic camera-work, extreme close-ups, shifting focus, and rapid cuts: when utilised sparingly by a proficient director working in conjunction with a skilled editor, these movie-making techniques can help to effectively convey urgency, panic, and terror; however, in the hands of a less talented film-maker, one who lacks the finesse and experience to make judicious use of such methods, the results can be virtually unwatchable. Such is the case with David L. Cunningham's After.I've seen a lot of bad films in my time, but there are very few that I loathe with such intensity as this virtually unwatchable mess, 76 minutes of migraine inducing garbage during which Cunningham never once uses a tripod, rarely sustains a shot for over a second, dispenses with such trivialities as keeping his picture in focus, and shines as many bright lights directly into the camera lens as humanly possible.If all of that wasn't bad enough, the plot is completely unfathomable for 99% of the running time, after which all becomes clear(ish) with a trite twist ending that didn't even seem all that fresh over two decades ago when Adrian Lyne used it for Jacob's Ladder (a film that After clearly strives to emulate).

Director David L. Cunningham takes the audience on a rough-edged ride with three extreme thrill-seekers, running us out of the blocks with a dramatic BASE jump and hauling us into Moscow's underground subways, chiefly the infamously secret Metro-2 line purportedly built in Stalin's time. Guerrilla-style in the actual tunnels, this is head-spinning film-making, an experience where rushing trains rattle your teeth; when a character scratches his neck, your neck itches too; and you feel irradiated an hour in. Without giving it away, the movie's a head- flip on a story level too, as screenwriter Kevin Miller and Cunningham rope in themes of love, guilt, regret, and bottomless loss so densely with the adventure that you're still sifting through them long after the credits have played. The sharp intimate scenes and claustrophobic mood are highly suited for DVD view.

OK, first & foremost this can best be described as a mind-f**k film. I'm sure there will be some reviewers out there who will see this as a "breathtaking masterpiece" but these are the same people who can see Jesus in a hunk of cheese. For those of you not blessed with this gift, you are more likely to get to the end of the movie & go Huh? It's like you took a couple of guys on acid & locked them in an editing room until they finished your movie. That being said, it does merit being watched because of the unusual camera work, the in your face lighting & big close up shots of someone's eyeball while they're freaking out (a la Blair Witch). Apparently our lead character has lost a young daughter & then base jumps off a roof, goes to Moscow, crawls underground, sees radiated people, hallucinates, sees his dead daughter, watches his friends get shot & disappear, camera spins around has flashbacks to a happier time when daughter was alive, wakes up, boards a train, sees his life flashing by on TV's then end of movie. That's all while the camera is wobbling around like a drunk on a tightrope. So if you would like some serious eye candy (or just like to get high & watch movies) then I recommend this film.