Aftermath: The film opens with Dr. Jane Dunning (Sally Kirkland, The Haunting of Hell Hole Mine, The Sting) discussing a significant medical advancement before the cut to Kate (Fruzsina Nagy, Land of the Brave, Opera of Cruelty) who is clearly in a rush to pack her belongings and leave the house.
Her boss, Robbie (Joseph Richmond, I Hear the Trees Whispering), decides that this is a great time to call and complain about her deadlines. And this makes her spill her coffee and lose the full cup. She tries to grab the coffee cup, which makes her take her eyes off the road and she crashes. This might be an accident that nearly kills her because the next thing she notes isn’t in a hospital but rather in a thick forest where a masked figure with a gas mask cold-bloodedly shoots her.
But what happens instead is a faster repetition of the same events. Dr. Jane doesn’t lake motionless, she sees the forest and gets shot again. Perhaps this cycle would have lasted forever if it were not for the interference of Bubba (Edward Apeagyei, The Quantum Devil, The Legend of Tarzan) who takes her to what he calls safety. He is another man who wakes up in the woods with no memory of what happened to him, or how, or who is shooting at them.
Much like their joint collaborations on features Moth and Bodom, the directors Gergö Elekes and József Gallai have now developed their 2020 short film into a feature film. It is actually rather different from what I would imagine a film by Gallai would be. While Aftermath may appear to be just another one of his (abandoned structures surrounded by a barren leafless forest – always a win) typical chiche, the uniqueness is deeper.
To start with, one could argue that it is more of a science fiction thriller than a supernatural horror like some of his works. There’s also a very, very strong emotional image in Aftermath as Kate, the protagonist, attempts to piece together the phases of her life: the period after the accident, before her memories, and the immediate mystery of her current whereabouts; and searches for explanations, gradual as well as gradual that begin to influence the narrative towards the end of the movie.
The trouble is that most of the time, the plot’s intrigue is rather uncomplicated. From the beginning of the film, Dunning’s research project is bound to have some relevance, and it does. Along with what the troops’ holographic leader (Eric Roberts, Megalodon: The Frenzy, The Rideshare Killer) states, one can easily put two and two together. The only mystery left is how it will all play out, and it seems that the answers are not that simple.
Aftermath is largely Nagy’s film, she is present virtually throughout the feature, often without any other cast to perform with. With scenes devoted to only a handful of actors, she manages to persevere and furnish us with a lead we can embrace. The only other actors to receive more than a handful of minutes, Edward Apeagyei as Bubba and Péter Inoka (The Poltergeist Diaries, P.S.O: In the Name of My Father) as the spouse of Kate, are also quite good in their roles.
On the whole, Aftermath is a decent film, but it has some themes which are too cliched and an abrupt change in the pace during the final third. Some other questions too remain unanswered in a satisfactory manner. Such as, who exactly is the character represented by Eric Roberts, and where did he and his men disappear to? A little more explanation and a more coherent use of all the elements of the story would have improved the end result.
Still, fans of the filmmakers and their works should appreciate Aftermath regardless of the above mentioned problems. Also fans of DIY films should appreciate it although this may not be the case for more conventional moviegoers who may consider the low budget and the conventional storyline to be a problem by itself.
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