Aftermath – Predictable, While Entertaining
Director: Peter Winther
Writer: Dakota Gorman (Screenplay) Peter Winther (Story)
Starring: Ashley Greene, Shawn Ashmore, Sharif Atkins, Britt Baron, Diane Hopper, Jamie Kaler, Travis Coles
Plot: A young couple struggling to stay together, when they are offered an amazing deal on a home with a questionable past that would normally be beyond their means. In a final attempt to start fresh as a couple they take the deal.
Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Aftermath starts as Natalie (Greene) and Kevin (Ashmore) are struggling to put their marriage back together after an affair, which will see Kevin suggest buying a new home, one that has a dark history, but one that is affordable for the couple.
When the couple move into the new home, they both find their own temptations outside the house, but Natalie starts noticing strange events around the house, with each one becoming more intense, leaving them to wonder just what is truly going on.
Thoughts on Aftermath
Characters & Performances – Natalie is the fashion designer wanting to breakout in the industry, she had got caught up in an affair with her wanting to make sure she fixes her mistake, giving Kevin what he needs to get on the right path. Natalie is trying to be a good sister to her sister who has had problems and when strange things start happening around the home, she tends to get haunted more than Kevin. Kevin works on a clean up crew for crime scenes, he gave up college to make a life for the pair and has been struggling to forgive Natalie for the affair. He accepts a term to return to college to move into this new home to start a new life, even if it means finding himself busy all the time. Ashley Green and Shawn Ashmore do give us strong performances as a couple in the film, even if the couple tend to make strange decisions. Officer Richardson is trying to piece together everything, but the more that happens the less evidence they have to go on, being left helpless to most of the events in the film. Most of the supporting cast don’t get too much screen time, as they are used to helps the couple through their problems in life.
Story – The story here follows a couple trying to rebuild their relationship after an affair nearly drives them apart by moving into a new home, only for strange things to start happening around home, leading to the pair to find a new level of problems, never truly knowing if they can trust each other. This does have a fresh approach to what we are seeing, by having the couple having the troubles, leading to a trust problem. This is the start and finish to the stronger side of the story, because when we dive into the events of the film, certain plot points complete don’t make sense and you can work out the outcome easily by the end of the film, even if we tend to get a few strange decisions along the way.
Themes – Aftermath is a horror thriller, keeping the horror within the home of a couple, containing the scares here, while the couple have no idea what is going on. To us it does seem obvious, but what we see, does seem to get caught up between the supernatural and real horror, which will again, only leave you wondering how certain pieces get put together.
Final Thoughts – Aftermath is a horror that is predictable despite getting confusing with how the scenes are presented.
