2023 HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
Brother and sister duo Rueben (Corey Landis) and Wanda (Paige Cato) have invented the selfie casket, a, well…casket that allows loved ones to see you after you’ve perished. Olive (Cailyn Rice) knows she has limited time left, and now her and her father, David (Patrick Fabian), must discuss the potential of purchasing the selfie casket—a conversation that is difficult to have. This is The Hereafter, and it’s wild.
Rarely do I watch the trailers for independent films before I watch the films themselves, as I want to be surprised when I watch the film for the first time. However, I made the decision (I’m not quite sure why) to watch the trailer for The Hereafter, and I was immediately floored by the idea. The film was now tasked with living up to my expectations, forced to do all that I had imagined it could be—and boy did it.
Death is an intense and difficult thing to deal with, and that goes for just about everyone. Losing a daughter, though, I can’t even imagine the pain and suffering that goes with that–because, as they say, a parent should never have to bury their child. The Hereafter starts off on something of a lighter note, however, as it explores this insane creation, one in which there is a literal camera watching the dead body as it decomposes. It’s a wild idea for sure, but just as quickly as the ridiculousness of the whole thing comes to life, the film transitions to something far more somber and dramatic. The transition is drastic, but massively effective. The juxtaposition in tone is incredible, and while the severity of Olive’s story would have still been successful, seeing such a drastic change adds so much to it. Viewers are quickly pulled from something so ridiculous and thrown into something harrowing and of massive importance. At this moment the film becomes much more relatable–even with comedy woven into the rest of the film.
There was a moment, however, toward the end of The Hereafter when I questioned if the film was getting too silly, losing the edge that it had developed with Olive. Just as quickly as that thought popped into my mind it was squashed. The closing couple of minutes are so intense, so dark, that everything that preceded it pales in comparison. Rice was brilliant throughout the course of the film, always keeping the film grounded–but in the final seconds of The Hereafter, she proves her worth even more, solidifying the tension that had existed throughout and ending the film with a bang.
The Hereafter relies heavily on the transitioning tones in order to be successful–and the juxtaposition constantly reinvigorates viewers throughout the course of the film. The most obvious message present in The Hereafter regards death and the toll that it takes on everyone involved in the process. However, a series of other messages lie just beneath the surface. Things like money, greed, fame, and more make their way into the spotlight just behind the ideas of death–and they constantly provide viewers new reasons to enjoy the film. The film is funny at times and dark in other moments, but it always leans heavily into those deeper meanings–giving the film layer after layer as it moves quickly toward its conclusion.
The final minute of The Hereafter was my favorite part of the entire film, but with the exception of about ten seconds, the entire film is brilliant. Again, and I can’t say it enough, the juxtapositional tones are what makes the film possible, what allows it to appeal to viewers from beginning to end. That balance exists throughout the entirety of The Hereafter, and the film is massively entertaining as a result.
Written & Directed by Ryan Noufer.
Starring Cailyn Rice, Patrick Fabian, Corey Landis, Paige Cato, Amy Argyle, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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