Hollywood is Talking Online - AfterThought Review
AfterThought - A Review
2007-Jan-3 by Laughcalvin
The Studios have a pretty good track record of producing movies about kids in high school whether they be musicals, sports, suspense, horror, or better yet, a combination of two or three of the fore-mentioned genres rolled into one. My theory is that those years were the best and worst of our lives with all that entails but that’s beside the point; suffice it to say these movies sell tickets. In many respects the same holds true for the world of indie filmmaking . Without the deep pockets, indie filmmakers have to really rely on good storytelling and craft. After all, there is only so much gore and f/x one can take. I caught the LA premier of “AfterThought” at AFI and was impressed with what the filmmakers did on a tight budget.
The story is set within the high school of a small Wisconsin town. Director, Elford-Argent, and DP, Menet compose some fine spooky shots, thereby setting the atmosphere for something bad to happen. Gwendolyn Garver plays Christy Dawson, a high school student who lost her father seven years earlier. Garver is convincing, especially when she starts to have these dreams of what looks like a very dead elementary school kid. The meds don’t stop the dreams and of course, it is hard to explain these things to her friends Kyle Walker (Kristian Capalik) and Mindy Mariner (Bobbi Jean Basche) at school. A lot of the action revolves around the high school hockey team and the cold, icy rink. Elford-Argent captures the rhythm of the hard-knock sport in his framing and shot composition and it felt like I was at a hockey game. When a student comes up murdered, the stakes are air-wrenched up a notch, especially when Kyle , who she wants to confide in about her dreams becoming increasingly real, is found at the crime scene. This dramatic twist is set-up well and is further complicated by the feelings growing between the two.
The authorities, played nicely for dramatic and comic affect, are drawn in and Christy is torn between investigating on her own or enlisting the help of the friend she trusted. To complicate matters, can she come clean about seeing future murders in her dreams? Why is this little boy haunting her? The story gains by this mystery that combines the elements above in a tightly crafted story by Wendy Elford-Argent. To boot, she edits “AfterThought” and that makes for some tight cuts that propel the story. The sound, usually the weakest link in indie filmmaking, was excellent, top-notch, every bit as good as a big-budget studio film. Acting can be a subjective call, but suffice it to say Chief Howard Dixon played by Jamie Symington and the Kristian Capalik as Kyle stood out in their performances. The supporting cast did a good job as well.
“AfterThought” does not break new ground in films centered around high school but what it does do is give you a well-told and well-made story. When it comes to the filmmakers however, you will probably be seeing their work again matched with solid, original material.
- rev. by Jerry Brewington for HIT
2007-Jan-3 by Laughcalvin
The Studios have a pretty good track record of producing movies about kids in high school whether they be musicals, sports, suspense, horror, or better yet, a combination of two or three of the fore-mentioned genres rolled into one. My theory is that those years were the best and worst of our lives with all that entails but that’s beside the point; suffice it to say these movies sell tickets. In many respects the same holds true for the world of indie filmmaking . Without the deep pockets, indie filmmakers have to really rely on good storytelling and craft. After all, there is only so much gore and f/x one can take. I caught the LA premier of “AfterThought” at AFI and was impressed with what the filmmakers did on a tight budget.
The story is set within the high school of a small Wisconsin town. Director, Elford-Argent, and DP, Menet compose some fine spooky shots, thereby setting the atmosphere for something bad to happen. Gwendolyn Garver plays Christy Dawson, a high school student who lost her father seven years earlier. Garver is convincing, especially when she starts to have these dreams of what looks like a very dead elementary school kid. The meds don’t stop the dreams and of course, it is hard to explain these things to her friends Kyle Walker (Kristian Capalik) and Mindy Mariner (Bobbi Jean Basche) at school. A lot of the action revolves around the high school hockey team and the cold, icy rink. Elford-Argent captures the rhythm of the hard-knock sport in his framing and shot composition and it felt like I was at a hockey game. When a student comes up murdered, the stakes are air-wrenched up a notch, especially when Kyle , who she wants to confide in about her dreams becoming increasingly real, is found at the crime scene. This dramatic twist is set-up well and is further complicated by the feelings growing between the two.
The authorities, played nicely for dramatic and comic affect, are drawn in and Christy is torn between investigating on her own or enlisting the help of the friend she trusted. To complicate matters, can she come clean about seeing future murders in her dreams? Why is this little boy haunting her? The story gains by this mystery that combines the elements above in a tightly crafted story by Wendy Elford-Argent. To boot, she edits “AfterThought” and that makes for some tight cuts that propel the story. The sound, usually the weakest link in indie filmmaking, was excellent, top-notch, every bit as good as a big-budget studio film. Acting can be a subjective call, but suffice it to say Chief Howard Dixon played by Jamie Symington and the Kristian Capalik as Kyle stood out in their performances. The supporting cast did a good job as well.
“AfterThought” does not break new ground in films centered around high school but what it does do is give you a well-told and well-made story. When it comes to the filmmakers however, you will probably be seeing their work again matched with solid, original material.
- rev. by Jerry Brewington for HIT
posted by AfterThought - Movie at 6:37 PM
3 Comments:
sweet review guys!
I would agree with most of what was said.
I can't wait for the release, when is it?
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