Canne 2008

AfterThought is at the Canne Film Festival 2008, with G-Machine!

Hopefully more territories will purchase the film!

Two Territories Sold

AfterThought has just sold to Latin America and Eastern Europe

Your Half Pictures

It has been 6 months since my last AfterThought Blog.

This monday I am signing the rights of AfterThought over to Your Half Pictures for a Worldwide DVD release. This is a big step for any indie film maker, Ryan Harper of Your Half Pictures has struck a few deals with DVD distribution and will be off to the Berlin Film Festival in February 08, with the hopes to sell many copies to each different country.

I'll keep you all posted

Dances with Films (Festival)

AfterThought has just been accepted in the 'Dances with Films' festival during the dates of 6th-12th July 2007. For more information please visit the website: http://www.danceswithfilms.com

Horror Year Book Review

AfterThought (2007)Published by Molly Celaschi April 11th, 2007 in MOVIE REVIEWS

While her peer's bodies are piling up, high schooler Christy begins seeing ghosts and communicating with the dead. Considered a "Dreamer", she is haunted by the ghastly image of a dead boy while piecing together the murder mystery. The only one she can trust is Kyle, who is suspected as the murderer.

The tagline is "Ghost Whisperer meets Donnie Darko". Unfortunately, the film lacks the quirkiness and bleakness of Darko, and it leans more towards Whisperer. The Darko comparison does make sense considering the effects of bullying by peers though, despite a somewhat made-for-TV feel. This is a smart thriller with no nudity and minimal violence & gore. Some scares come from the dead boy that continuously pops up. One particular scene made me jump.

I have a few minor quibbles though. I don't understand why, if the dead boy is connected to the suspects and victims, the cops didn't figure this out? Instead, our heroine had to search newspaper archives to figure it out on her own. And a parapsychologist tells Christy he knows her dead father is contacting her from beyond the grave, but…we never see or hear the dead father during the entire film. Also, the "dreaming" aspect doesn't always work since the ghosts appear midday while she is wide awake too.

Who the killer is and why made perfect sense. I was happy when I got the resolution, even though it was a bit overanalyzed towards the end. The flashback sequences with the young children were creepy.

While shot on a Sony F900, the picture quality was pretty well done with good lighting. I was curious how so many locations were readily available to a low budget production and it turns out that a small town in Wisconsin opened their doors to the filmmakers.

Bottom Line: Good murder mystery worth checking out.

Rating: 6.5/10

HorrorTalk Review

AfterThought DVD Review
Written by Joe Ripple
Official Site

Directed by Douglas Elford-ArgentWritten by Wendy Elford-Argent2006, Region 1, 85 minutesNot ratedStarring:Gwendolyn Garver as Christy DawsonKristian Capalik as Kyle WalkerCal Thomas as Elliott SmitheBobbi Jean Basche as Mindy MarinerJames Symington as Chief Howard Dixon

Premise:
A young lady is somehow able to have visions — both awake and asleep — involving a spirit of a young boy, while her high school friends are being murdered around her.

Thoughts:
Take one part Scream, one part The Grudge and two parts of "Ghost Whisperer," mix thoroughly and apply to the screen…

In the independent films of today, a common reoccurring theme has always been the availability of something I like to call the "teen" angle. Why does this work so well? In most regards, for the following reasons:

Nobody will listen to them, even though they're right, and being a teen in and of itself has immense pressures. I'm sure we can remember the days of trying to fit in, and trying to find out where we belong in the universe. Even when we knew the correct answer to a difficult question, we were looked upon as children…and, according to some adults, we didn't know jack.
What director Douglas Elford-Argent has done, is take this very simple concept and ramp it up a bit. Our lead in AfterThought, Christy Dawson (played wonderfully by Gwendolyn Garver), becomes haunted by visions of the spirit belonging to a young boy, who is about ten years old. This restless soul foretells our heroine of shenanigans and evil goings-on.

It turns out that this boy-meets-girl, boy-is-afraid-to-ask-girl-out, girl's-friends-start-dying, boy's-friend turns-on-him-boy-gets-arrested-killings-continue story is more than just plot, more than substance, more than a redux of everything that one can expect from a teen paranormal slasher movie.

The film is absolutely beautiful to watch.

Let's talk about the actual hard parts of independent film: Acting, locations and cinematography.
The acting in this film is top-notch. Especially the parts played by the teens. To say the acting by Kristian Capalik as Kyle Walker, Bobbi Jean Basche as Mindy Mariner, and Cal Thomas as Elliott Smithe rivals Hollywood would be a proper, well placed statement — one that I would feel comfortable saying. Some of the adult parts were a bit dry, but palatable. The police scenes were slightly skewed, but not so much that it would not be believable. There were plenty of extras that were used quite well, and this improved the film on an immense scale.

The locations were good, and even when the scene actually involved a house of a friend, it seemed to fit perfectly into the story. In other words, none of the locations seemed to be thrown in to substitute for something that could not be found. Even utilizing an actual jail cell was a plus. And believe me when I tell you that I used to walk many a prisoner into similar cells that were shown in this film. They were real, and the film gained tremendous production value because of this attention to detail.

The cinematography by Marc Menet was, for an independent film…incredible. Proper focus, not too washed out during the day shots, just dark enough on the night shots provided a wonderful canvas on which director Elford-Argent painted his story. At some points, I actually reversed the DVD, and watched the scene again with the volume muted… just so I could appreciate visually what was captured by the cinematographer.

The special effects were handled nicely. They were not done with reckless abandon, and were quite good. There was no nudity at all, and save for some of the language and violence, would probably garner a PG-13 if it were to be rated.

Had the story been a little stronger, the editing just a bit tighter, and the theme not so overdone, I would have given this film five stars out of five. But do not be mistaken by these slight drawbacks. AfterThought belongs on the shelf of every horror fan that appreciates independent film. AfterThought sets the bar for other indie horror films when it comes to acting and cinematography.

Video and Audio:
Video, audio and special features will not be graded as this is a screener. However, the score should be mentioned as it adds the proper tension when needed. Tim Williams, who scored the recent box office success 300, directs the music here.

Grades: 4.5 Stars/5

Want to comment on this review? Head over to the Horrortalk Review Forum
© 2007 HorrorTalk.com. No use of this review is permitted without expressed permission from HorrorTalk.com

Music Conductor of '300' scores 'AfterThought'

Music Conductor of '300' scores 'AfterThought'

The new WB feature film '300' Music Conductor, scored 'AfterThought' the new feature film from 30 Something Productions.Tim Williams - Music Conductor '300' and 'AfterThought'

http://www.timothywilliams.net/

Boyce McClain's Collectors' Corner - Article

Hollywood DV Film Festival - FREE TRICKETS

TICKETS ARE FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AfterThought has just been accepted into it's 2nd Film Festival.

Hollywood DV Film Festival
Fairfax Cinema Theater7907 Beverly Blvd.Los Angeles, CA. 90048
Time: 3.30pm
Date: 31st March

Click Here: AfterThought Schedule at Fairfax Theatre

Please click on the link above to order your tickets ASAP, the theatre only holds 150 seats, so spread the word!!!

Fatally Yours Online - AfterThought Review

Filed under: Horror — Fatally*Yours @ 10:02 pm
Online Magazine

Afterthought is an intelligent, refreshing and slick-looking independent spookshow set in a hockey-obsessed high school in Wisconsin.

Kristy is a high school student is having reoccurring nightmares of a young dead boy. Her father passed away years ago, and she learns that he left her with the gift to see and communicate with the dead. Kristy is part of the popular hockey clique, which includes her best friend Mindy and her boyfriend and star player Elliot. The outcast of the hockey team is Kyle, who happens to be friends with Kristy. Kristy has a premonition about someone dying at the high school, and sure enough, a hockey player is murdered in the locker room. As more and more people die, Kyle comes under suspicion for the murders as he and Kristy grow closer, while Kristy is haunted further by the ghost of the little boy. Can the young boy help Kristy unlock the secret of his past and who is behind the murders?

First off, this independent feature has a very professional look to it. The opening credits alone grabbed my attention, as did the highly professional score and music. The production values throughout the entire film are very high, which is always a pleasure to see in an indie. The focus on quality really shines throughout the entire movie, from the production values to the acting, the story, the directing and the cinematography.

The story is surprisingly intelligent and keeps you guessing through to the end. The characters are wisely well-developed and I actually cared about what happened to them, unlike most horror films set in high school. The characters don’t make stupid decisions and aren’t stereotypes of high school students, but feel like real people you or I know. All of the actors do a great job, especially the lead in the role of Kristy.The overall atmosphere is creepy and foreboding and the supernatural element of the creepy dead kid adds much to the slasher aspect of the film. The kid reminds me of the J-Horror kids like Toshio from Ju-On, but not in a bad way. The ghost child is very creepy, especially in his first appearance. There are plenty of jump scares, but not the cheap fake-outs featured in so many movies today. No, these scares are actually…scary (imagine that!)!

This film also captures the drama of high school life, especially being on a sports team. In this particular case, it’s the hockey team and we get some great shots of a game. The backstabbing of high school is well-portrayed, as is the strong bond of friendship.

This movie was a real jolt to watch, a jolt that is sorely needed in the indie horror genre. It proves that you don’t have to make a dumbed-down movie to be successful. Smart, creepy and a surprising and satisfying ending make Afterthought a winner in my book.

Rotten Produce Pictures - AfterThought Review

By David W. Keffer, Rotten Produce Pictures

Afterthought, by 30 Something Productions, is a chilling rollercoaster with so many turns it'll make your head spin and leave you reeling. There are multiple interweaving storylines within the film, which gives the viewer as many questions as answers. The stark contradictions between characters allows for a dynamic plot in which the characters themselves further the movie.

Christy Dawson has had some troubling visions that become far more troubling when they connect with the murder of a local student. As Dawson becomes more intrigued with both the ghost in her vision as well as the brutal slaying of more students after a hockey game, the tale of intrigue sucks a viewer in and leaves them wanting all the answers.

As a moderate low-budget film, Afterthought gives moviegoers a believable set, characters, and, at points, plot. Though high-school thrillers have been hits in the past, Afterthought offers something new in a Nancy Drew sort of way. The film ties in both a supernatural element with a murder mystery, on its way to an ending that could have and probably should have been better foreshadowed. Well-filmed and generally well-edited (save for an extraneous conversation with girl and mom, and girl ironically driving a Zamboni as well as an awkward flashback), Afterthought receives a high rating for its technical, lighting, and composition qualities.

The actual script and storyline, however, receive only a moderate rating, as there are several holes in plot jumps such as a sudden revelation that one suspect had a key to the school when it could have easily been revealed in an earlier establishing shot. Also, there is the use of a psychic/psychologist who just happens to help the girl explain what she is seeing. This is awfully convenient, and could have easily been solved in multiple other ways that didn't add to the already extensive list of characters. Most of the minor characters could have been done away with completely, or diminished with the same effect, (i.e., too many officers, too many hockey players, mom, Elliot's dad), and thus allowing for more time and better development of the main characters.

That being said, the acting was generally well done, again, save for the police staff. Dawson, played by Gwendolyn Garver, portrayed a convincing part as both a skeptic as well as a believer. Both Elliot Smithe and his nemesis Kyle Walker also did well with their parts. The ages of the characters, however, did not completely set the scene for a high school. All four of the main characters appeared well into their 20s, obliterating the suspension of disbelief. But again to the credit of 30 Something Productions, it is difficult for any company to find talented and available young people who can work for low-budget wages in multiple locations.

Afterthought is a movie that I would certainly recommend to my friends. Despite the sometimes chaotic feel of the film, the technical quality combined with above average acting paints a chilling tale of supernatural intrigue. With a movie of this caliber, 30 Something Productions is well on their way to establishing a name for themselves both domestically and abroad, and I certainly look forward to more productions in the future.

Wheels of Terror Magazine - AfterThought Review

Wheels of Terror Magazine

Reviewed by John Gugie

Taglines: 'There will be more!'

Synopsis: A high school big on its hockey team is the focus. Among the hockey jocks is a group of four childhood friends (Christy, Kyle, Elliot and Mindy). Seven years after Christy loses her father, she begins having strange dreams. When her dreams begin to become real, Christy seeks the help of Kyle, her friend and outcast of the hockey team. A team member is found dead and Christy dreamt of it. Police find her and Kyle snooping around the crime scene and are questioned. Christy trusts that Kyle has no part in the murder but, after he's again found near the scene of another murder scene, she has doubts and police charge Kyle as the serial murderer. Working alone, without Kyle, she discovers the truth.

Meat for the Beast:
I received this from director, Douglas Elford-Argent. He had e-mailed me beforehand and I checked out the trailer on their site, afterthoughtmovie.com , and I had expected to see another low-budget nauseating trailer but hat I saw looked very well done with good quality camera work, clear and crisp images, good audio with an intriguing albeit none too original premise. I wanted to see this.

Truth be told, what I got was uniformly as well shot as the trailer. Great camerawork for a low-budget flick (estimated $750,000) and not just a flashy trailer leading up to a big let-down and shoddy production values upon viewing the feature production. Kudos on not letting me down! The film utilizes a few unique camera techniques in a few shots but nothing over-the-top, gung ho use of them, as many low-budgets try to use to mask their film's inadequacies.

The camerawork is this films most positive attribute. That's not to say that it's a bad movie, just that the story doesn't hold up as well beside the great camerawork.

In my opinion, the story is a cross between an "I Know What You Did Last Summer" / "Scream" type film and a TV show, such as "Medium", "Ghost Whisperer" or some aspects of the hit horror film, "The Devil's Backbone". I think the merge between these two vastly different storylines can work if done with the correct balance. However, "AfterThought" never does find that perfect equilibrium to bring out the best of both worlds.

First, we have the storyline of an unknown killer, who has just killed a male student inside a high school locker room. He was on the hockey team, as are some of our best suspects.

Second, we have the storyline of Christy Dawson, a young high school girl is having bizarre dreams of a dead little boy who is leading her on a journey to where and for reasons unbeknownst to her. She soon finds out that she is, like her father, a Dreamer (basically a psychic whose visions come in their dreams but the ending changes that detail).

Both of the storylines can be good on their own and together takes a bit more work. Their combination here isn't awful but it's not great either. The killer side is just your standard thriller, the psychic seeing dead people can turn truly horrific. "AfterThought" never truly becomes horrific. I think this turned to focus more on the killer aspect. The psychic aspect does have quite a few scenes but it just never feels like it's fully flushed out to its fullest potential.

It turns more into just your standard "teen" slasher flick with a few twists but nothing unique. The psychic part tries to make it unique but doesn't quite make it. Still, for a low-budget flick, "AfterThought" does pretty well at entertaining us and looking good doing it.

The acting is adequate. Most actors do their parts. A few, like Annie Hughes (as Sarah Dawson, Christy's mother) and John Hammond (as Principal Wagner), feel very "cardboardish" and flat. Chris Muntel (as Officer Johnson) does slightly better. Basically, most of the "adult" characters didn't do such a hot job. The "teens" do surprisingly well. I think Gwendolyn Garver (as Christy Dawson) stands out as the best actress in the movie, good with showing her emotions and facial expressions. I hope to see her do more in the future. Cal Thomas (as Elliott Smithe) does a pretty good job. Next in line is Kristian Capalik (as Kyle Walker) does okay in a "Smallville" sense. Bobbi Jean Basche (as Mindy Mariner, Kristy's best friend and Elliott's girlfriend) eh, she's okay; beautiful but a tad too "Californian" for my tastes. The teens' younger versions are adequate. The rest of the cast are background characters.

The dialogue is pretty good, not many cheesy lines as in most low-budgets.

The SFX are okay but a bit cheesy at times. The dead people/ghosts are portrayed just as people with grayish makeup which is cheesy but serves its purpose. There is blood but not too much, little gore really.

Director, Douglas Elford-Argent, does a fine job with the script he was given. His work is given a boost by Marc Menet's superb and professional cinematographic work. High marks to Menet! Writer, Gwendolyn Garver, starts with a novelle idea and does a good job with dialogue, for the most part, but I feel her script needed one more edit to get the slasher/psychic merger honed one step further.

While "AfterThought" isn't the greatest film it does a fair job as a slasher flick and even better as a low-budget. I hoped the psychic part was better defined but it could've been worse. It turned out more like an episode of "Ghost Whisperer" but that's not such as bad thing, is it? Worth a view or rental. 2 stars for story, .5 added for acting and an additional .5 for cinematography. Total: 3 stars. 3/5

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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

WFRV CBS 5 and Channel 7

The screening in Waupaca, WI last night was a great success, the 750 seat theatre was filled with locals, the lines were so long it followed outside in the 30F cold night, Douglas and
Gwendolyn were present at the screening.

WFRV CBS 5 covered the event! View Video

also

Channel 7 featuring Jan Janssen! View Video

Waupaca Screening NEXT WEEK

Location: Waupaca High School, WI

Date: 20th December

Time: 8pm Sharp

Admission Fee: $4

Director and Lead actress to be present!