As with all movies on this website, our goal is not to provide a complete synopsis of the movie, but rather to document how the movie relates to the meaning of life. With that said, be forewarned, there are still spoilers ahead.
After.Life is a psychological horror/thriller movie that was released in 2009. The film was directed by Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, and starred Liam Neeson as Eliot Deacon, Christina Ricci as Anna Taylor, and Justin Long as Paul.
Just because we breathe, eat, sleep, go to work, and defecate doesn't mean we're really living, does it? That is the premise of the film, and it is rolled out in a very disturbing manner. Picture this, picture waking up in the morgue and being told that you're dead, you died in a car accident. The mortician tells you he has a gift and only he can speak to the dead to help them transition into the next stage of life, whatever that might be.
Anna: But I'm breathing. I must still be alive.
Eliot: Oh you people! You think because you breathe, piss, shit you're alive? You clutch onto life as if your life was worth clutching onto. Was your life worth clutching onto, Anna? Was it? Maybe you died a long time ago.
Throughout the movie Anna would struggle with coming to terms with her own mortality and all the things she left behind, most specifically her unspoken love for Paul. The fact is, as Eliot would point out, she was too scared to live to while she had the chance.
Anna: Why do we die?
Eliot: To make life important.
Eliot: I thought you were different. You all say you're scared of death, but the truth is you're more scared of life.
Eliot would later reiterate that most people are just corpses without meaning, without purpose, and therefore were better off dead.
Eliot Deacon: Don't you see? I'm the only one that can see all these corpses wandering around aimlessly. All they do is piss and shit, suffocating us with their stench, doing nothing with their lives, taking the air away from those that actually want to live. I have to bury them all. I have no choice.
Eliot questions what Anna wanted out of life, she replies to be happy. Eliot pushes her on what that means before she comes to the conclusion she wanted love. Too late.
In the end, Anna would realize the value of life, but she would realize that value only too late. She is buried alive. Her fiancé who also strongly suspected she was still alive failed to fight hard enough to get her back. After Anna's funeral, Paul (her fiancé) finally decides he must dig her out of her grave, but he is also too late....
Overall, the movie had a very good and a very twisted premise. However, it somehow failed to deliver what could have been a blockbuster cult classic. Nevertheless, it is still worth a watch.
We rate the movie as follows:
Overall - 6
Meaning of Life Relevance - 6
Uniqueness – 6
Have you seen the movie? If so, comment below at the bottom of the page and let us know your thoughts.