In a new feature here on Tin Can we will review movies that we get out of the vending machine at Redbox. We love Redbox, and I'm sure you do to. So come a long as we try to help you narrow down your choices when u head to the Box. This week we take a look at "After.Life" a horror/thriller with Liam Neeson as a creepy mortician and Christina Ricci running around all naked again, but this time she might be dead. Full synopsis and review after the jump.
After.Life
Starring:
Christina Ricci.................Anna Taylor
Liam Neeson..................Eliot Deacon
Justin Long.....................Paul Coleman
Chandler Canterbury.......Jack
Ricci plays Anna Taylor an elementary school teacher who has lost the will to live. Her boyfriend and would be fiance Jack (Justin Long) feels his love is unrequanted and trys to get their relationship back on track but the seemingly constantly depressed Anna seems uninterested. After an argurment Anna leaves in a huff and gets herself into a car crash. She awakens to find herself on the preparation table of local mortician Eliot (Liam Neeson) who informs her that she is in fact dead.
Obviously dismayed by this information Ricci has a hard time accepting her fate (although apparently not THAT hard). Eliot explains that he has a gift and helps the newly dead on their "transition." Eliot keeps her locked up in the prep room for the 3 daysin anticipatin of her funeral while Anna trys to figure out if shes a live prisoner or a dead soul truely being guided into the after life by the creepy funeral home director. This is also the same question we the audience are charged with answering. We also get a creepy kid doing his best Haley Joel Osment impression and Justin Long's character running around trying to get to the bottom of his girlfriend's death.
After.Life presents us with an interesting scenario but the execution simply isn't up to snuff. Without presenting you with spoilers I'll just say there plot holes big enough to drive a semi through, a lot having to do with the movie trying to be smarter than it really is. The acting is serviceable, Liam Neeson obviously is one of the best in the business but he seems like he's just in cruise control in this one, nothing special. I believe Christina Ricci is talented, but much like Black Snake Moan a few years back her acting is overshadowed by her being naked or close to it for most of the film. This premise would have probaly been better served being a 30 min tv show somewhere along the line as the middle of the film is somewhat dull and dragging as we are presented clues to "Is she?" or "Isn't she?" question. I suppose all in all for a low budget horror/thriller its not horrible.
Verdict : If you can overlook a few details, and enjoy horror flicks then After.Life may be worth a buck at the vending machine. It gets our "If your Bored" recommendation. 6.0/10.
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