After Last Season is a 2009 American science-fiction drama film written, directed, produced, and shot by Mark Region.[1] The film stars Jason Kulas and Peggy McClellan as medical students who use experimental neural microchips to discover the identity of a killer who has been murdering their classmates.
| After Last Season | |
|---|---|
_promotional_poster.jpg) Promotional release poster | |
| Directed by | Mark Region |
| Written by | Mark Region |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Mark Region |
| Edited by | Vincent Grass |
| Music by | Michael Windham |
Production company | Index Square |
| Distributed by | Index Square |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5 million[1] |
The film received negative reviews, with criticism being aimed at its acting, sets, visuals, animations, editing, and the perceived convolution of its plot.
Premise
editMatthew Andrews and Sarah Austin are medical interns studying neurology at the Prorolis Corporation. When a serial killer begins murdering their fellow students, they use experimental chips to visualize the events of the crimes. They conclude through these visualizations that they may be able to see, and therefore prevent, the next murder before it occurs, and learn that the killer is a ghost. It is revealed at the end of the film that the events were all a dream.
Cast
edit- Jason Kulas as Matthew Andrews
- Peggy McClellan as Sarah Austin
- Scott Winters as Dr. John Marlen
- Casey McDougal as Anne Plaven
- Joan-Marie Dewsnap as Haley Marlen
Production
editDirector Mark Region has cited The Sixth Sense and The Exorcist as inspirations for After Last Season. The film was shot on 35mm film, and principal photography took place over five or six days in one house with fake medical equipment made from cardboard. According to Region, the film had a budget of $5 million, with $30,000 to $40,000 spent on filming and the majority of the remaining amount spent on the film's animated neural visualization sequences.[1]
Release and reception
editThe trailer for After Last Season was released in March 2009, and rumors began to circulate on the Internet that the trailer was part of a viral marketing campaign by director Spike Jonze, in promotion of his then-upcoming film Where the Wild Things Are.[2] Several websites even called into question whether or not director Mark Region is actually a real person.[2][3] Lindsay Robertson of Stereogum wrote that the trailer "seems like it could only have been made in a parallel universe that irony forgot. Or written and directed by a small child."[4]
The film premiered on June 5, 2009, receiving a limited release in Lancaster, California; Austin, Texas; North Aurora, Illinois; and Rochester, New York.[1] Among the audience members who attended these screenings, a viewer in Rochester called the film "amazingly bad", while a viewer in Austin stated: "it was a total mindfuck. It can really only be described as a lesson in self control because at first, I wanted to leave, then I wanted to scream at the movie, then it became funny, and then it reached that level where it crawls under your skin and agitates you with the questions that rise from having been witness to it."[5]
Film critic Scott Von Doviak wrote that the film is "intensely boring, thoroughly disorienting and so technically incompetent it achieves several deeply unnerving effects entirely by accident."[6] C. Robert Cargill, in a review for Spill.com, referred to the film as not only the worst movie of 2009, but the worst movie of the last two decades.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Macaulay, Scott (June 9, 2009). "Interview: After Last Season's Mark Region". Filmmaker Magazine. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ a b Collis, Clark (July 14, 2009). "Is 'After Last Season' part of the 'Where The Wild Things Are' campaign, or just the weirdest movie of the year?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ Mancini, Vince (June 4, 2009). "What's The Deal With 'After Last Season'?". Uproxx. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ Robertson, Lindsay (March 11, 2009). "Nothing Can Prepare You For The After Last Season Trailer". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ Robertson, Lindsay (June 8, 2009). "After Last Season Leaves Audiences With More Questions Than Answers". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ Von Doviak, Scott (June 7, 2009). "Review: After Last Season". Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2016 – via WordPress.
- ^ "Spill.com Worst of 2009 Part 4/4". 2009 – via YouTube.