Anna Taylor (Christina Ricci) is unhappy.   She ends up in a car accident and wake ups up on a slab in a funeral home.  Funeral director Elliot Deacon (Liam Nesson) tells Anna she is dead and he has the special ability to talk to the dead.  Anna is in denial as she tries to find a way to escape.    She can walk, talk, move, and even still feel.  She wonders how this is possible.  Elliot gives her a drug that he says relaxes her muscles (just before someone comes to see her).   Anna’s boyfriend, Paul (Justin Long), is a mess after Anna dies and he wanted her to marry him.

Some people will probably flock to see it when they hear Christina Ricci is in a red slip or is naked for most of the movie.  Liam Nesson plays the funeral director with a quiet presence that only a few will see him for what he really is.   This is an interesting and eerie debut feature from the beautiful Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo who wants to give a new spin to the film about the dead and how people cope with those who have died.  More important is that it deals with the fact people are sometimes afraid to really live.   Anna doesn’t want to die, but she was afraid to live while Elliot sees it as his purpose to prepare the dead to pass on.  It is an interesting and beautiful film and yet creepy in the right moments.  This director is a person to watch for the films she does next.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

An audio commentary with director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo digs into the story of the film as she mostly talks about the characters and story with a few insights into making the film.  The featurette has an interview with the director as she reveals the little clues in the film.   Rounding out the extras is the original theatrical trailer and previews for other Anchor Bay titles.

FINAL ANALYSIS:   AFTER.LIFE is different and Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo is a director worth watching.

This DVD review is ©8-15-2010 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com