HEREAFTER: 35 Minutes of Wasted Potential

Hereafter is a short supernatural film written and directed by Johnny Kenton. The product of a Kickstarter campaign, the film is about a young woman named Katcher (Lydia Wilson), who is called up to try out for a group called ‘The Guardians’. Who are they guarding? Well, frankly, I never figured that one out. What I did find out was that a number of impressive actors spent their time on this production, including Anthony Head (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Taron Egerton (who would later appear in Kingsman). In the end, though, what Hereafter is, is a whole lot of wasted potential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yjdaMzNO24

When I say that I’m not sure what Hereafter is about I’m not kidding, although it does have its roots in the same contemporary thought that spawned The Hunger Games and Divergent. Katcher is a down-on-her-luck young woman who has been plucked from obscurity to try out for the Guardians. She is not a natural choice, as she’s the rebellious diamond in the rough while her fellow trainees are the sort that would come out of District 1 (were this The Hunger Games).

Elsewhere in the film’s narrative something, or someone, called ‘The Ghost’ is going around possessing people and forcing them to kill. I didn’t really understand what was going on here, but then I found this on IMDb: “Its story follows ‘Katcher’ through a world where the internet in peoples heads is being possessed by a figure called ‘The Ghost’. We follow her as she trains to join the genetically modified secret police force.” The fact that I didn’t know there was an ‘internet in people’s heads’ or that her fellow trainees were genetically modified shows how little the film explained itself.

Suffice it to say that Hereafter only makes as much sense as it plays on our familiarity with similar dystopian stories. But outside of that I’m not sure what it’s about. Who are the Guardians? Who are they guarding? Who is the enemy? Who is The Ghost? Why were a team of free runners cast in the film? This short is meant to be a standalone film whilst also acting as a pilot for a larger feature or tv series. But the problem is that it lacks completion in either form. Instead, it moves like the opening of a feature film, one which is cut off after 35 minutes and which never properly invites you in. I can understand the filmmakers’ desire to make us curious, but to overlook basic information means you’re more likely to alienate your audience than inspire them to want more.

The bright side of this film is that you are exposed to a broad range of acting talent. Unfortunately, Lydia Wilson is not one of those talents. I had previously seen Wilson in About Time and Ripper Street, and while I found her a little annoying in those, her acting in this piece put me off entirely. There is little to no sincerity in either her voice, actions or facial expressions, and I had a decided lack of sympathy for her character Katcher as a result. The same could be said for Eloise Lovell Anderson, who plays Katcher’s nemesis Celine, and badly at that. She’s a shallow imitation of an enemy, and I found myself intensely disliking Anderson’s portrayal. Outside of these two, however, you pay witness to some impressive talents.

Anthony Head gives a short but solid performance (which is to be expected), while Flora Berkeley shows she has great acting potential in her portrayal of Cressida, a woman in turmoil. But it is in two of the smaller roles that we really see something special. Olivia Morgan (Tozer) has just one scene, but in it she schools Wilson on how to demonstrate real depth and sincerity in her character. Then, of course, there is Taron Egerton. With precisely nothing to do but hang around in the background, Egerton actually makes quite the impression. He adds texture to every scene he is in, consistently acting as though there is something else going on in this film, even if it is something going on in his own head. I couldn’t help but feel that Tamburlaine (Egerton’s character) was existing in a much more interesting film than the one I was being exposed to.

In the supporting cast I saw great potential in Hereafter. Had the script been better, and some reassessments of other casting been made, it could have been a very good short film. It would not have been groundbreaking or very original, but it would have been an interesting watch. However, as it is, I believe that while Kenton clearly has something to give as a filmmaker, this wasn’t it.

What did you think of Hereafter? Let us know in the comments.

(top image source: ChannelFlip)