Afterschool (2008)

An Internet-addicted prep-school student captures on video camera the drug overdose of two girls.

Director:

Antonio Campos

Writer:

Antonio Campos

Stars:

Ezra Miller, Jeremy Allen White, Emory Cohen

1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ezra Miller	...	Robert
Jeremy Allen White	...	Dave (as Jeremy White)
Emory Cohen	...	Trevor
Michael Stuhlbarg	...	Mr. Burke
Addison Timlin	...	Amy
David Costabile	...	Mr. Anderson (as David Costable)
Rosemarie DeWitt	...	Ms. Vogel
Dariusz M. Uczkowski	...	Peter (as Dariusz Michal Uczkowski)
Gary Wilmes	...	Mr. Virgil
Lee Wilkof	...	Mr. Wiseman
Paul Sparks	...	Detective Eclisse
Bill Raymond	...	Mr. Williams
Alexandra Neil	...	Gloria Talbert
Mark Zeisler	...	Tom Talbert
Christopher McCann	...	Mr. Ullman

Storyline

Having joined a recently created video club, a lowly prep-school sophomore - desensitized from reality by frequently viewed Internet imagery - accidentally captures on video the final moments of admired twin senior classmates dying from poisoned drugs. Rather than galvanize the school or this lad's life in any profound or meaningful way, the tragedy causes barely a ripple in the already emotionally diminished and out-of-touch lives of everyone around.

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Plot Keywords:

defloration | loss of virginity | extracurricular activity | watching television | high school | 

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Taglines:

What's wrong with this Video?

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

In one of the early scenes in Rob's dorm room, a poster on the wall near the door says "DO YOU FEEL - new album." This poster is for an album by the popular alternative one-man music project headed by pop-rocker Bryce Avary known as The Rocket Summer. "Do You Feel" was The Rocket Summer's third full-length album and was released in 2007.

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Quotes

Trevor: Isn't your sister Maria, the senior?
Peter: I don't know.
Trevor: You know I fucked your sister.
Peter: Does she know that?
Trevor: Her pussy's so wet. You know your sister's pussy gets so wet? All you gotta do is brush up against it. You know, your sister gives mad good head, right? Gets the whole thing down her throat. Last time, when she was suckin' on my dick, it only took me a minute before I came all over her face. I bet you jerked off to pictures of your sister, huh? Next time we do it, I'll find you; I'll let you smell ...

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Connections

Featured in The Mask You Live In (2015)

User Reviews

Freshman student film that failed. Miserably.

I don't mean the remarkably inept product of the protagonist, seen in this film, I mean this film.

Truly wretched camera work and editing, a total failure in character development, and a lack of plot that must have been intentional are only the beginning. There was some decent acting (though the special-features interview with the lead actor achieved more audience attachment in 3 minutes than the entire film did), but the direction was amazingly inept. Truly, Ewe Boll films are better.

You'll see totally pointless scenes tossed in at random (some guy throwing a ball against a wall, irrelevant to anything else in the movie, is only one such), a total failure on the part of the school faculty that I thought was intended to parody itself, but was apparently meant to be taken seriously, and total opacity from all of the characters - you see them doing things, but why they're doing them, or why they do anything, remains a mystery. The camera work was obviously intended to show alienation, but all it achieved was to alienate the audience. Much of the action happens just out-of-frame; a kiss happens with nothing but the girl's hair visible, and that's some of the better cinematography.

The director/writer/editor was, apparently, trying to be creatively arty. What he achieved was, sadly, amateurish failure. He was trying to portray teenage angst, but he only made that tedious. He was trying to cause revulsion in his audience at the inhumanity of attending a boarding school; he revolted me with his lack of ability to say anything to an audience.

You've been warned - you won't get those hours back. You won't even be able to trade them in for a blank - you'll carry the horror of this ineptitude with you.

Given a choice between watching this again, watching any 3 Ewe Boll movies, and being shot at sunrise, I'd have to think it over - but I think I'd take Ewe Boll over being shot. Watching this again would take a poor third in that contest.

Details

Official Sites:

CTV International [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Afterschool

Filming Locations:

Pomfret, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,606, 4 October 2009

Gross USA:

$3,911

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$49,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

BorderLine Films, Hidden St. Productions, Rose Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (some sequences: video)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1