AfterDeath (2015) User Reviews

It could have been good, but it wasn't.

[brycewise · 4/10 · 3 November 2015]

I wanted to like this movie, if for no other reason then I spent the better part of an hour and a half watching it. I wont give any thing away, but it had a intriguing premise, Five people in a sort of purgatory trying to figure out how the got there, a fairly spooky atmosphere, eternal night at a deserted beach house. but every time the story could have taken a turn and become compelling it was ruined with some form of cheesiness. All in all it wasn't terrible, but it was far from good. It was disappointing. so I guess if you have nothing better to do then give it a go. but if you are expecting a eye opening experience well this isn't it

Beautifully Done, But I'm Still Not Sure What I Watched

[tesswysko · 5/10 · 20 February 2019]

That about says it. It's a GORGEOUS cinematic movie, basically people wash up on a beach, later another woman does, through clues in their cabin which was custom made to make them comfortable - They find out clues that they're dead, and where they're all going and why. Then they start exploring the world they're in, and realizing all is shown in paintings. They trap one of the black smoke creatures that come around, and get a few answers. But honestly, at the end of the film, I'm not sure I believe what the girl is hoping is going to happen is. It's such an un- fulfilling ending, but maybe someone less tired than I was will get a better ending.

There's No Resolution to This Story About Some Type Of Purgatory

[sddavis63 · 3/10 · 27 August 2018]

The basic story isn't too bad. The movie opens with a woman washing up on an isolated beach. All she can find is one cabin with the lights on. inside she discovers that there are four others, all of whom washed up on the same beach. After some exchange of stories we discover that all five were involved in a horrific accident at a nightclub - and apparently all have died, and this cabin is some sort of purgatory. It's not hell and it's certainly not heaven. It's some place in between the two. And in the midst of purgatory there's some sort of demonic presence who appears as a black cloud. The purpose of the whole ordeal apparently is to get the five to come to terms with their sins - although it was never really made clear what that was going to accomplish, and there were a lot of suggestions that actually it wasn't going to accomplish much of anything.

There's an intriguing element to the story. Each of the five have some secrets from their past that have to be dealt with. But the real flaw to the whole thing is the apparent pointlessness of it all. Where is this all going to lead? Where is the hope? I mean, the whole point of purgatory at least (if you believe in it, and I don't) is that your sins get dealt with and eventually you get out. But it's never made clear that there's any real escape from this purgatory and the end of the movie doesn't really clear much of anything up. I guess the viewer is left to decide for him/herself what the end result of all this is.

There's a very overt anti-religion message to this (quite exemplified near the end when one of the five says to another "if you see God tell him to go f!!k himself." I suppose I can see where that might come from given the circumstances these five find themselves in. There are a lot of inconsistencies or unexplained things in the movie. How do real world items manage to get into this purgatory? And if they're all dead and they have no blood being pumped (which the movie establishes) then to be blunt it's strange that Seb managed to have an erection during his threesome with two of the girls early in the movie.

I suppose the acting isn't too bad but the story just doesn't work all that well. You find yourself hoping for some resolution, but it never arrives. (3/10)

Good potential, but ruined

[grey1066 · 2/10 · 20 November 2016]

I was very unsure of what to rate this film. As a pure and simple movie it was well done: good acting, decent pace, good FX. Even the premise is promising. However, throughout there seems to be a lot of man-hating, and the end is about as hubristic as one can get. I can only conclude this was written by someone who is still bitter from a strict religious upbringing. The last line in the film seems to sum up its message of despair. Thus I settle on a solid 4. It could have been so much better.

For a better "purgatorial" film, I recommend "Kingdom Come" (2014), which has a much better theological logic to it.

Interesting idea but fails

[Stevieboy666 · 3/10 · 9 October 2017]

Interesting idea about a group of 5 strangers (4 good looking girls & 1 lucky guy) who find themselves together in a strange cottage on a mysterious beach and turns out that they are all guilty of sin and are actually dead. Sadly, despite some decent acting, from about the half way point it goes rapidly down hill, becoming confusing & tedious. I just wanted it to end & be put out of my misery, rather like some of the characters in this British movie.

Someone Is Clearly Salty About Catholic School

[bizzywiththefizzy · 1/10 · 8 February 2019]

This was obviously made on a low budget, but low budget doesn't have to mean a dreadful film ('Stalled' cost about 50p to make, and is light years better)- and this was awful.

Pseudo-religious garbage which seemed to care more about gratuitous sex than anthing else, and shoe-horned in some twaddle about the afterlife.

I'm guessing the film maker got their knuckles smacked with a ruler by nuns one too many times.

I'm British and even I had trouble understanding the dialogue - lots of mumbling and poor sound engineering.

If you want to see a far superior low budget film about life after death, watch 'Wristcutters: A Love Story'

boom goes the afterlife - oh well god sucked anyway.

[deconvertedman · 3/10 · 22 November 2015]

AfterDeath 2015 review/commentary spoilers abound - if you've seen it let me know your thoughts.

For thriller/supernatrual - it was.. eh. I wasn't scared, but - they didn't pull any of the cheep pop ups - mostly this movie shows a universe / world / afterlife where everyone goes to hell - because no one is good. the demon/devil smoke monster from lost is there and its sort of / kind of creepy but not really , its more of a force - it has lots of power - but its evil? I guess - it can send people to heaven but never did - but with one of the women controlling it, it does - then all of eternity stops existing - no more hell or heaven since if a sinner enters heaven the whole thing crumbles. BUT - at the end - its unclear if they won, or not.

Overall - the scare factor was just not there -the people are dead, and they can't die - but they can be hurt. They have no pulse or blood but they breath - the question of how the male can get it up is never answered - good question too that one. Huh. Is the demon letting him do that so the demon can feed of the sin of lust or something? Isn't the demon all powerful - but its not, since the woman and outside objects (from the real world) can stop/hurt it - and hey I guess you can take stuff with you as objects from "the real world" can come with you, but that makes more questions then it answers and the movie's logic really falls flat, again. The ghostly pushing from the outside "hell" is a neat effect, I guess it is mildly disturbing but -eh.

You get the sense that the lead woman had an abortion - but its never said - so.... okay? Like - the whole movie they have her seeing a crying baby. At the end semi-possessed by the demon/devil thing she holds her stomic - as if it is her baby. But... she doesn't say "I had an abortion, my baby would also be in hell -so yeah, sending the sinner to heven to destroy hell (and heven but no one is there) would make far more sense - but ... maybe it got left of on the cutting room floor or something.

However the lead woman says something that I thought was great - "If you see God, tell him to f--- off." ah, brilliant.

Right if a sinner gets to heaven, sees God - heaven's not going to be there long - because the whole afterlife is going to crumble - it would have been a great pay off to see a glimpse of heaven - all nice and prim and proper and some angelic face and then when the sinner shows up its face is like "OH SHI" face and snap booom.

So - on a scale of 0 to 10 I was 3 for creep out/scared (0 being not at all) I guess I would say its not a bad movie - its a logicaly flawed low budget try at something I hadn't seen before and I like the idea of ending the after life and that no one is saved - that the better way is no after life rather then one where everyone goes to hell - but I think I would have loved it even more had it been that the sinners find out that there are people in heaven - that they are going to hell , but figure out some way to sneak in/trick the demon/devil into sending them to heaven so they can destroy the after life since no afterlife is better then one where anyone - even one person goes to hell.

But - that is just me. If you want to kill some time I would say this is a good movie to do it with, it has some good ideas in it, some okay acting not great, not horrible , just - kind of a time killer movie. 

Cheap, greyed-out, and saddled with hateful characters

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 30 August 2017]

AFTERDEATH is a silly, low budget British horror film with a high concept and very poor execution. It's one of those films which has a greyed out look to the cinematography which makes it quite depressing to watch and, in fact, a chore to sit through. The story has a bunch of the usual unlikeable characters waking up in a small house and discovering that they've died and are in a kind of limbo. They swear, drink, have sex a great deal, and are generally offensive so that you hope something bad happens to them and quickly. They also get menaced by lame CGI shadow creatures which rip-off the look of the Dementors in HARRY POTTER. I hated this one.

Interesting Premise Ultimately Undone

[seriouscritic-42569 · 6/10 · 19 April 2018]

Interesting little low budget affair with an intriguing premise unfortunately undone by the simple fact that the screenplay is filled with many clever "thoughts" passing themselves of as "ideas". It is to be highly commended, though, for seriously trying to be about larger issues even if it hasn't really worked any of them out yet, and ultimately doesn't make sense or hold up to any sort of intellectual scrutiny. This doesn't mean it is not interesting or holds your attention - it manages to do that even as it sometimes feels a little slow or inert. In all fairness, few films that aspire to be about the workings of an Afterlife, and the role of God and human frailty within that context, manage to be deeper than A: questioning for questioning sake, or B: comprised of rather random rules that are never questioned by anyone in the film - and, by extension, the filmmakers themselves. In this case the logical (or theoretical) inconsistencies increase the longer the film goes on trying to resolve its Twilight Zone like set-up, but at least it doesn't cop out and settle for a simplistic summing up or "twist". Performances range from good to totally acceptable - no one has anything to be ashamed of on that front; even the initially Hollywood-esque notion that only five attractive people would be in the house is explained away later that they appear as "idealized" versions of themselves. Effects are obviously low budget, but not distracting.

Potential, then fell FLAT

[rubyz-67904 · 2/10 · 12 February 2020]

I wish I could have the time back I spent watching this movie. Goes nowhere. Ending is a total disappointment.

"Hell is Other People"

[chinazauche-549-175155 · 9/10 · 2 November 2015]

AfterDeath- is an intelligent existential twist on a Horror film. Relying less on "Jump Scares" it packs a more psychological punch.

5 people wake up in the middle of nowhere realizing that they are unable leave - and that this is all some sort of punishment for the lives they have lead. At first it seems like not much of a punishment- but when 5 "bad" people are trapped together BAD things start to happen. The cast is talented, pretty and fun to look at, but it is the ugliness of their actions that keeps you watching.

I found myself still thinking about some of the questions brought up in the film, days after.

A fresh look at the... afterlife

[t-rexx-568-196825 · 7/10 · 29 February 2016]

Quite a good, refreshing, clever movie. Must not be seen as a horror movie. It stirs a lot of things inside, making the viewer think and project personal feelings, beliefs, explanations etc. onto the screen.

The casting is surprisingly very good, especially the lead, tough as nail female character.

Of course, the movie is far from perfect -but given its budget, it does do the job... There are holes in the narrative, some key elements of explanations are missing -how can you possibly have s*x when you've got no pulse???- but overall, there are minor misses.

Not a film for avid gore or action seekers, though. They might quickly get bored. I've liked its sense of intimacy -well, I could even go so far as to talk about delicacy here- its rather gentle touch on a grave, often disturbing subject (life after death).

A truly intimate movie overall, worth watching.

An explanation why horror fans hate the movie. AD is not for people with ADD.

[fedor8 · 9 September 2020]

I absolutely understand why this movie has a pitiful 4.0 average with barely more than 1,000 votes: it's because it has such a pessimistic premise. The notion that everybody goes to hell, that heaven is just a completely empty place annoys/scares/angers/offends most people. Kind of similar to why "YellowBrickRoad" has a low score.

Besides, thought-provoking, original horror films aren't popular among horror fans - that's common knowledge, or should be. Because this is an obscure movie, mostly horror fans get to see it and rate it, not general movie-goers otherwise it would have been rated higher probably. The majority of horror fans are round-headed clods who thrive on torture porn, home invasion, cannibal sadists, blood-thirsty hicks and other kinds of generically moronic empty-headed slasher "thrills". In short: films with zero imagination, simplistic stories, and plenty of senseless violence. AD is none of that. (There is violence but there isn't much of it and it isn't senseless or over-the-top.) There is more dialog than action, another thing that confuses and bores the average ADD horror fan.

All things considering, I am surprised this doesn't have a 3.3 average or even lower, which is nearly always reserved for the truly bad movies. (Though many awful movies are more likely to get 6.5 and higher, here at least where awfulness and idiocy are generously rewarded.)

AD does have its flaws. Some of the characters do and say odd or somewhat silly things, and there are certain unexplained things and illogicalities that creep in now and again. Why are there images of fetuses every time the lighthouse shines on its victims? Why a lighthouse? What is the purpose of the regular light flashes? Why does the blonde initially see the apparition and the others don't? How come the guy can get erections if their bodies have no blood? (One character does ask this question but we get no answer.) Why does Onie keep disappearing and coming back? Why is she special? How did the blonde die? Surely not in the club accident? Do all dead people go through this brief "lighthouse purgatory"? Had none of the billions of dead people previously figured out what the whole deal is? How the hell can the blonde actually capture a hugely powerful multi-dimensional demon in a wooden box?

But, believe it or nuts, these inconsistencies and flaws aren't significant enough to hurt the movie. The story is gripping from the first minutes and the premise is unusual - i.e. my kind of horror film. There is also no time wasted with a stereotypical boring small-talk intro. The story kicks off immediately.

The female cast is attractive. Miranda Raison is very pretty though not a great actress, Elarica Johnson is even better-looking (amazing mouth) and the most competent actress here. Lorna Brown is very cute too - a typically ditsy British girlie. (The kind that gets drunk at nightclubs and falls over in parking lots while saying "oy" a lot. Years later she marries a square-headed pleb and wonders why her marriage isn't working.)

So how does the film end? Apparently, the plan is to send a lesbian into heaven as a "terrorist bomb" in order to destroy all afterlife. The plan seems to have worked. The notion that a lesbian saves the after-world was not intentionally PC, methinks. But who knows.

Well done but very far off from even basic Christian beliefs

[davebrown_boeray · 5/10 · 9 November 2018]

I enjoyed the first part of the movie, but it veers off course regarding very basic Christian beliefs. However, it was still an interesting movie. I was hoping it would be thought provoking. It looked like it had potential, but then fell flat on its face.

I like sci-fi movies too, where the speed of light gets broken all the time and I can suspend my belief system to enjoy the movie. But Afterdeath got it so wrong it destroyed the movie even during the movie.

Minor Spoiler:

I thought it might provoke interesting ideas. Instead it completely ignores biblical teachings that Christ died for our sins and that many sinners do go to Heaven.

Garbage, that's where that movie belongs.

[deloudelouvain · 1/10 · 1 November 2017]

I guess today was not my lucky day. First I watched Cube that scored great on here, and I gave it a three star rating because it was just not good. Wanting to see at least one good movie my second choice was AfterDeath. What a big mistake that was. It's just an awful movie. I couldn't wait for the end to come. The story-line is just ridiculous. You wonder who writes this kind of bull. I don't know how old the writer is but his mental age must not pass sixteen. And then you have the special effects. Some kind of black cloud going back and forth in a room. I honestly think nowadays any kid between six and fourteen can do a better job on their computer. It was really painful to watch. The cast was also not the greatest ever. The actors were mediocre at best. Just don't waste your precious time with this garbage.

A very good movie with a very bad ending

[marulez · 1/10 · 13 September 2019]

This is actually a very good movie and good description of the purgatory up until the end when they basically ruin it all and show their true colors and purpose of the movie. There's nothing really horror about the movie other than wanting to destroy Heaven. There are no scare scenes, nothing. Andrew Ellard is saying that Heaven is empty. Really Andrew?? Empty? Not even Mary, the mother of Jesus is in Heaven? What about the apostles and all the Bible writers? What about Moses and Noah? Not even them are in Heaven? Then the movie ends with a phrase which sums it up perfectly of what it has turned into. This is a Satanist anti-God movie, you have been warned.

You can watch it, its not really that bad but just turn it off in the last 10-20 minutes when everything goes downhill. Its sad that they ruined it at the very end.

You will be dead after this. Dead from boredom!...

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 28 June 2017]

I was initially drawn to the movie because of two things; the first being the movie's cover. This DVD cover was quite interesting and it definitely showed that this was a movie in the horror genre. The second thing was that this is a horror movie, which happens to be my favorite and preferred genre of movies to watch.

However, I didn't know what the movie was about, as I had no prior knowledge of the movie before picking it up and actually sitting down to watch it.

I managed to sit through a whole 36 minutes of the ordeal that is "AfterDeath", before I got up and turned off the DVD out of sheer and utter boredom and pointlessness.

"AfterDeath" is definitely one of the more boring and uneventful movies that I have seen in a long, long time. And there was just nothing in the movie that proved to be appealing and substantial enough to warrant me to keep watching it.

Sure, the special effects and CGI were adequate, from what I managed to see during the 36 minutes. The smoky apparition, or whatever it was, looked quite interesting. But the special effects could do nothing to salvage the movie.

The characters in the movie were generic, one-dimensional and were struggling with worthwhile dialogue and just blatantly turned out to be characters that you don't care for in any way or relate to in any way.

I am sure that the actors and actresses on the cast list were doing their best, but they were severely hindered by a lack of script and proper storyline. Also, the characters they were hired to portray had no dimensions to them, so the cast were fighting an uphill battle while wearing heavy chains to pull them down.

The story was pointless and had no selling points, at least none to keep me interested or motivated enough to want to go on. In fact, I can guarantee that I will not return to finish this movie, solely because it was a snooze-fest of unheard proportions.

If you enjoy a proper horror movie, then there are far better movies available out there in abundance. My recommendation is to stay well clear of "AfterDeath".

no thanks

[That_1_guy · 2/10 · 27 November 2020]

I like the concept and hope to see something like this that's watchable in the future but the trailer was enough to tell the whole story in this case.

Gloomy Limbo

[Pairic · 5/10 · 17 October 2020]

Afterdeath: Five people in a house realise that they are dead and in some sort of afterlife. Four were washed up on a beach, one may be hovering between life and death They perished in a nightclub collapse: I died with a pink drink with an umbrella in it in my hand.Filmed in Norfolk, the low budget is all too obvious. Not too terrifying as they are chased and attacked by an angry ball of blue/black smoke. The male among the five is more frightening and violent. Some of the dead seem to get possessed. This is overlong but it has some interesting ideas and might have worked better as an episode of an anthology series. Directed by Gez Mendinger and Robin Schmidt, written by Andrew Ellard. On the Horror Channel. 5.10.

Even the good are damned

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 25 August 2017]

Robyn (Miranda Raison) wakes up "dead" in a world where she breathes but has no pulse. She enters a house where there are four other people, three of which are engaged in sex. It seems sex and alcohol is the favorite past time of the dead. The house has a sign "Tabula Rasa" which is Latin for "blank slate" or "clean slate" a clue that is later explained.

Robyn is not content with staying there being vexed by the black smoke demon, lighthouse lights, and an enclosing bubble. Time is running out as out group attempts to brainstorm and confess their way out.

This was a fairly good film, for what it was. Acting was decent. Effects were okay. The black smoke demon has become popular.

Guide: F-bomb, sex, no nudity.

Definitely worth watching

[jamesjohnallman · 8/10 · 10 November 2015]

I like this film for a number of reasons. Firstly, the plot was different, dark and entertaining. It was one of those films that you think about the next couple of days after seeing and you could interpret in different ways. The film appealed to my dark sense of humour (would have liked some more dark jokes) and some hot girls definitely added to the appeal. It felt like it had a decent budget, decent effects which help you immerse in the film. I struggled to find a character I really liked/identified with which is why it was an 8 for me not a 9 or 10. Definitely worth watching, some good acting, story flow and plot are strong, very entertaining.

Not that bad

[bavass81 · 6/10 · 26 December 2021]

I didn't really like the end but the concept was good. If you like philosophical, supernatural horror then give it a watch. Doesn't deserve such a low rating I've seen so much worse rated better on this site.

Actually interesting

[gryrke · 7/10 · 3 February 2021]

I found the story to be really interesting and the story to be intriguing and really makes you think about how we live our life's and the modern world.

AfterDeath lives!

[Olimdb · 8/10 · 2 November 2015]

I absolutely loved this psychological horror. It was a super fresh take on the genre that I've honestly never seen before. I was scared, I laughed, I felt for the characters and I had a really strong curiosity as to how it was all going to end. I'll let you watch it to find out! These five characters all have to work together to survive what are pretty awful circumstances to say the least (that's Hell, folks), and there are some beautiful set pieces that are worth the price of admission alone. The score and cinematography help add to the tone and the varied but nuanced performances brought the inner and outer battles to screen in a really engaging way. Definitely check it out!

Good movie, bad ending.

[dlmyst-29813 · 7/10 · 4 September 2020]

The movie and it's premise was pretty good but around the end the story does get a little forced on you. You start to figure out what everyone sins are little by little. The manager person always trying to figure everything out was obvious. Everyone else sins were laid out during the story but you had to pay attention. Again, the ending could of been elaborated on just a bit to give us better closure. Though the movie is still good to see with some friends. It gives you a new meaning of the afterlife.