After.Life [Blu-ray] [2009]

I came across this film on sky anytime+ and decided to give it a go. this film seems to have a lot of negative reviews on here, but I cant for the life of me understand why! this is NOT a horror film it is a pyschological thriller and the build up is quite subtle. perhaps too subtle for a few people??? ok. so christina ricci is a sad human being and following an argument with her boyfriend, she "dies" in a car crash, waking up in the basement of a funeral home where liam neeson plays the creepy undertaker, who can apparantely communicate with the dead to help them make the transition to the afterlife, about to begin the preparation of her body for her funeral. at first ricci refuses to accept that she is dead and trys somewhat half heartedly to escape. some people have referred to these scenes as poor scripting or bad acting, however i believe that the lack of true heroine escape attempts shows that some people are more scared of living than dying, pivotal to neeson's character being able to convince the living that they really are dead. I dont want to say to much more as dont want to take away from the feeling the film gives you as you are watching, the twist and turns are great, and several times throughout i found myself switching between believing she is dead and alive. i will finish by saying that this is not a film for lovers of slasher horrors that make you watch from behind a pillow, this is a film for people who prefer to think and make up their own mind about what is really going on.

A very promising idea that has been badly executed. Liam Neeson is suitably creepy but the many pointless talks between his character,Eliot Deacon, and the dead (?) Anna in the preparation room soon become tedious. So much more could have been made of the time and relationship between them if Anna hadn't appeared largely brain dead already. Eventually you'll get tired of him leaving her in the room and locking the door and be desperate for SOMETHING TO HAPPEN ! Some nice creepy ideas but could have been soooo much better.

This film looked like an intriguing one. Anna (Christina Ricci) has a car accident and awakes on a slab, with creepy Funeral Director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson), preparing her body for her funeral. Seems she is dead but does not realise it, and he has a 'gift' that allows him to talk to the dead...or is she being held prisoner by a psychopath? And will her boyfriend Paul (Justin Long) discover the thruth in time?
Veering from interesting Philosophy to run-of-the-mill horror thriller, this film never seems to quite hit the mark on either score. Neeson's performance is suitably underplayed, adding a real air of menace to his character, but Christina Ricci's character is unlikeably neurotic from the start, which means we never really care enough about what is happening to her, and her actions throughout the film vary from being battling survivor to depressingly resigned to her fate. The fact that she is naked throughout a great portion of the film matters little. As she is filmed in a cold blue light that makes her look, indeed, like a corpse, suggests to me that this is less exploitation and more an attempt to portray her vulnerability to Neeson's controlling character...Or is it just an excuse to get her clothes off? (You decide...!)
The film is more interesting when exploring the themes of life and death, suggesting that some people are more scared of living than of dying, and are therefore more dead than alive anyway. But all of this is shelved in an attempt to become yet another Horror/Thriller vehicle, whilst failing to really scare or grip the audience. Shame really, as Neeson's character has the potential to become a truly chilling horror villain....
A wasted opportunity then, and although the film is adequately performed and has a good central premise, I rate it just average for thrills. It did keep me guessing for much of the movie, and Neeson turns in his usual polished performance, so I award it 3 stars...