Aftermath [1994]

Do not let the year of production fool you, this movie looks like it’s made in 2009, the camera, production values and the sound effects are amazing for this type of an independent movie. Aftermath is a highly disturbing short horror film. I usually don’t review short movies, but this one is so fucked up that I just had to review it. So this is a new category of sick and fucked up movies, it means that these movies contain scenes of very graphic violence, brutality and extreme gore. If this is not your cup of tea, just skip this sub-genre all-together. What is seen, cannot be unseen.

Movies like this are very disturbing for the most viewers, but if you want to take a bite of the forbidden fruit, no one is going to stop you. With the story set in the morgue, Aftermath tells the story of an ordinary necrophiliac doing some really nasty things. He’s a mortician and after everyone leaves, he starts mutilating corpses. That’s it, that’s the whole story. This is not some shocker where we see the “person” gradually escalating towards necrophilia, but a relatively “unbiased” depiction devoid of any additional context. Concentrating on the very act, Nacho Cerda created something truly terrifying and almost repulsive. There are no explanations or origin stories, just sheer brutality and wickedness. Aftermath is one of the few movies that left me truly shocked and speechless. Watchers beware.

Finally, something about the very concept behind this movie. First of all, there’s no doubt that this is a horror movie about necrophilia, with graphic scenes and even more frightening sound design. What’s the point, you might wonder? In this fucked up world and reality, things slowly start to lose meaning, even faster than before. Necrophilia, depending on your internal system of values, is still somewhat of a taboo subject. I always hated taboos because they limiting your objective perception of reality. Aftermath shows you what necrophiliacs do and you need to be aware that people like this actually exist and are a part of our society. And just imagine how many people fantasize about stuff like this…

Director: Nacho Cerdà

Cast: Xevi Collellmir, Jordi Tarrida, Ángel Tarris, Pep Tosar

Fun Facts: In order to make the film Cerda decided to examine the working of a dead body. A friend of his worked with dead bodies so he observed and wrote what he saw.

IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159241/