I saw this film at a school film festival and I was thoroughly impressed. There were a couple other good films at the festival but none of them felt like a real movie. This film had a solid beginning middle and end with great visuals and good acting. The only facet that could have been better was if they defined the rules of the "After-Life" more clearly as some audience members including myself got confused as to what exactly was capable and not capable in this universe. The art direction in this film was better than most the over all direction of the piece was more thoughtful than one would expect from a film by a college student. These are some filmmakers to watch.
6 Reviews
Not Bad
permut2 November 2012
A solid debut for first time filmmakers. While no means perfect the spirit of good story tellers are lying just beneath the surface of the film. Solid Cinematography and Art direction aid in grounding the supernatural story and despite multiple jumps in time and space the narrative does not loose the viewer. Ill attempts at comedy withstanding the film is well put together with some solid performances. The lead actor does well at playing both parts and thankfully the camera work does not detract with many gimmicky shots of the actor being in the same shot twice. film is decent but the ending is solid and cements in me the excitement to what's next for this team.
Excelente
chrisrobbie2 November 2011
Cinematic excellence! I watched this movie with my friends and we were quite pleased with it.
After-Life marks the beginning of a very promising for Mr. Trujillo-Hobbs.
The body doubles were quite realistic.
I look forward to see what he does next.
To me he is the next Cecil B. DeMille.
He has a perfect eye for what needs to be on screen.
The realistic qualities of this film are unmatched by any previous Chapman student's film.
After-Life marks the beginning of a very promising for Mr. Trujillo-Hobbs.
The body doubles were quite realistic.
I look forward to see what he does next.
To me he is the next Cecil B. DeMille.
He has a perfect eye for what needs to be on screen.
The realistic qualities of this film are unmatched by any previous Chapman student's film.
Enjoyable
scoobylunchie29 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this short film with a number of others and found it to be interesting.
The way that a body double was used for a majority of the shots was well done and damn near imperceptible.
Although the story was good and a complete arch of Michael's character is clear, from not knowing what has happened to accepting his fate, I found the sound design to be lacking.
It may not have been a concerning matter to those involved, but it seemed over the top and unnecessary in some scenes.
In all though, this was a good film with a happy ending.
The way that a body double was used for a majority of the shots was well done and damn near imperceptible.
Although the story was good and a complete arch of Michael's character is clear, from not knowing what has happened to accepting his fate, I found the sound design to be lacking.
It may not have been a concerning matter to those involved, but it seemed over the top and unnecessary in some scenes.
In all though, this was a good film with a happy ending.
Great Film!
Evansr-169-36366925 September 2011
I watched this movie with a group of friends without any idea of what it was about and boy was I impressed! After just 14 minutes, this movie was able to draw not only myself, but all my friends in and really cause us to feel for the characters. This movie offered a fresh, creative, and concise plot line as well as solid acting, which left me wanting more by the end. The dialogue was very natural and the actors did an awesome job at making the characters believable. On top of that, the quality was outstanding, so much so that it's hard to believe that the movie was shot through a school as opposed to a professional company. Overall, a great movie and enjoyable experience!
Compelling and well shot
pastoractor1-160-83551714 September 2011
After-life takes on an ambitious subject for a short, but does a good job of capturing the 'matter of fact' surreal aspects of life after death. The camera work was very good and the color correction was superior. The shots told the story, and created the strange world that the story called for. I also appreciated the Foley work especially in the early scenes.
The acting from the cast was uneven but Matthew Dearing took the difficult task of playing a duel role and made it very believable. Playing against himself he seemed natural and in the hands of a less capable actor, the scenes could have been very contrived. Interestingly, his work was at it's weakest in the least challenging scenes, but overall much better than than most indie performances.
The urgency of the story was the strongest element of this film,, and every scene made you want to see what was going to happen next. The point of view was strong in the early scenes but dissolves into disappointing conclusion, However the ride there was so much fun it doesn't seem to matter.
I can see why this piece helped Mateo Trujillo-Hobbs gain entrance to one of the most prestigious Film programs in the nation, because we want to see more from this promising director.
The acting from the cast was uneven but Matthew Dearing took the difficult task of playing a duel role and made it very believable. Playing against himself he seemed natural and in the hands of a less capable actor, the scenes could have been very contrived. Interestingly, his work was at it's weakest in the least challenging scenes, but overall much better than than most indie performances.
The urgency of the story was the strongest element of this film,, and every scene made you want to see what was going to happen next. The point of view was strong in the early scenes but dissolves into disappointing conclusion, However the ride there was so much fun it doesn't seem to matter.
I can see why this piece helped Mateo Trujillo-Hobbs gain entrance to one of the most prestigious Film programs in the nation, because we want to see more from this promising director.
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