Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet
This is the first of a three-part review series of the
films of Yolanda Torres. They will be in chronological order, over three days.
This particular film was also co-directed by Joan Alvarez, who wrote or
co-wrote all of them.
The Afterglow
Directed by Yolanda Torres and Joan Alvarez
aFilm International; Easy Stiges
101 minutes, 2014 / 2020
Despite being an
English-language film from Spain, the accents are definitely on the British
side, so this has a continental feel but still remains familiar throughout.
Originally designed as a web series, it remains nearly episodic and we are presented
with a series of scenes, or set pieces, usually broken up by the main character,
English professor and writer Oliver Price (Paul Coster), moodily staring into
space by some body of water while smoking a cigarette and seeing visions of
spirits.
Paul is in the process
of mourning his brother, David (Charlie Anderle), who died of a mysterious
degenerative disease. He projects his missing of him on being protective of
David’s girlfriend (wife?), Laura (Claudia Trujillo, appearing in most of
Torres’ films), who is suffering from memory loss after a fall from the window
of the apartment she shared with David. Now Oliver is taking care of her for
his own reasons.
 |
| Claudia Trujillo and Paul Coster |
Meanwhile, as the
story continues, the mood swirls around them in minimalist style. The soundtrack
is a soft and dissonant plunking of the piano in a redundant theme that is used
throughout the entire endeavor, there are many atmospheric shots which are
supported by the fine editing, and it does take its time. Jump scares are nary
to be seen, future information is hinted at through shots of a woman beaconing
underwater, and mysterious people standing around in sunglasses. The dialog is sparse,
and the tone is quiet. You know all of these are hints of things to come, and
that it is going to take its time getting there, but you know there will be
some kind of bomb of awareness down the road. Meanwhile, it feels like the film
is on cruise control, and that is quite great, actually. I love the lure of a story.
 |
| Smokin' by the seaside |
Laura is a bit of an
enigma going in: is she a siren, a wraith, a psychic energy vampire as in Lifeforce
(1985) who lives off the energy of others, or just misunderstood? How much of
what is happening around Oliver is in his mind? He certainly keeps seeing
others who silently pop in and out around him, including David. His ex-girlfriend
and ex-student Helena (Sarah Tyler Shaw, another Torres regular), who is
battling cancer, and David’s landlord, are mistrusting of Laura while David is
fighting his feelings for her. Meanwhile, I am a bit cagy about Paul himself, being
a Woody Allen-type who seems to pick vulnerable, younger women when he is a
position of power, as professor or provider/caretaker. A scene of him watching
Laura sleep really creeped me out, though I don’t believe that was the
intention.
While shock scares are
not the theme of the film, certainly tension is, as the shadows and mysterious
goings-on increase over time. Many of the hints are literally literary, which
is interesting as Paul is a English prof, such as “Something Wicked This Way
Comes” (though I’m not clear if it’s from the Ray Bradbury novel or the Macbeth
quote), and number mentions of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw (as a quick
digression, James was one of the worst classic writers of the early 20th
Century; learn how to finish a damn sentence, sir!). This motif lends itself well
to the film itself being broken up into acts (i.e., chapters), complete with
title cards.
If you are looking for
an adrenaline rush kind of horror film full of chainsaws, machetes and mayhem,
well, look somewhere else. This is an introspective one that fares even better
on a second watch, to get some fine points that may have been missed (I did
that, and was glad I did). It certainly isn’t the feel good movie of the year,
nor is it sparked with humor. However, if you are still interested in a decent
body count that does not rely on copious amounts of blood, and like a good
brooding mystery along with some great acting, a good looking cast and a
well-shot film, have I got one for you!
No comments:
Post a Comment