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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    After.Life

    Featured In Issue 149, July/August/September 2010

    Picture4.5
    SoundNR
    WSR Score3.5
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Anchor Bay Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    BD21691
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    Nudity, disturbing images, language and brief sexuality
    (Retail Price):
    $34.98
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    103
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    Not Indicated
    (Theatrical Year):
    2009
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    08/03/10
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    Dolby Digital 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    After a horrific car accident, Anna (Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral. Confused, terrified, and feeling still very much alive, Anna doesn't believe she's dead, despite the funeral director's reassurances that she is merely in transition to the "After.Life." Eliot convinces her he has the ability to communicate with the dead and is the only one who can help her. Trapped inside the funeral home, with nobody to turn to except Eliot, Anna is forced to face her deepest fears and accept her own death. But Anna's grief-stricken boyfriend Paul (Long) still can't shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn't what he appears to be. As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late. Anna may have already begun to cross over to the other side. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include commentary with Co-Writer/Director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, the featurette "Delving Into The After.Life: The Art Of Making A Thriller" (HD 07:59), the theatrical trailer, plus up-front previews.

    The 1080p AVC picture is effectively rendered to convey an eerie presence in scenes in the funeral home. Otherwise the picture is perfectly natural, with rich and warm hues. The basement funeral home scenes convey a stark, cold greenish look contrasted with Anna's richly hued red dress, as she is being prepared for viewing. Contrast is quite good, with deep blacks and revealing shadows. Resolution is appropriately soft in parts but generally revealing of fine facial features and object textures. As Anna appears to deteriorate, her flesh transitions to a lifeless pale tone. Visually, this is a stylistic picture that perfectly portrays a freighting scenario. (Gary Reber)

    The non-compressed PCM 5.1-channel soundtrack is nicely produced with an eerie orchestral music score that is well recorded. The music is spread wide and deep across the soundstage and wraps deeply into the surround channels. The score delivers a strong, solid low-frequency foundation that naturally energizes the .1 LFE channel. Dialogue is nicely integrated spatially throughout, particularly during scenes in the funeral home's preparation room, with its reverbant hard surface walls, floor, and ceiling. This results in a wonderful reverbant character to the sound effects and Foley as well. While the soundtrack is in large part monaural focused, the sound has dimensional character, which heightens the realism, supported by a wonderfully haunting music score, which is prevalent throughout. This is an effectively eerie soundtrack that works well. (Gary Reber)

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