AFTERIMAGES (2014)

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Tony Kern
Cast: Keagan Kang, Lim Kay Tong, Pamelyn Chee, Yu-Beng Lim, Marcus Lee, Michael Kwah, Vincent Tee, Mike Kasem, Daniel Jenkins, Kevin LaGrange, Adeline Pang, Melissa Faith Yeo, Caren Utino
RunTime: 1 hr 32 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Horror)
Released By: Mythopolis Pictures and Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://www.aihorror.com

Opening Day: 11 September 2014

Synopsis: AFTERIMAGES, a collection of five short horror stories that unfold when a group of students burn paper effigy cameras for the wandering spirits during the ghost month and they receive films in return.

Movie Review:

We have no idea why we enjoy paying good money to be spooked out alongside strangers in a dark cinema hall. Is it the unexpected shrieks whenever a door slams itself shut suddenly? Is it the nervous giggles after a cat jumps across the screen out of nowhere? Or for the guys, is it the opportunity to put your hands round your girlfriends’ shoulders every time there is an on screen scare? Now, when was the last time you were truly spooked by a local horror movie? No offence to well meaning filmmakers who churned out productions like Ghost on Air, Blood Ties and The Maid – but while each has its merits, we don’t remember any spine tingling sensation after catching those flicks.

And nope, Jack Neo’s hor-medy didn’t do it for us too. How does writer director and co producer Tony Kern’s latest work, after two previous features, both in the horror genre, the documentary A Month Of Hungry Ghosts and Haunted Changi, fare? Thankfully, not too disappointing (if you have watched the promotional trailers, you are right to think there’s quite a bit of potential in Kern’s third big screen work).

The Singapore based American Kern brings you five short horror stories that unfold when a group of students burn paper effigy cameras for the wandering spirits during the ghost month and they receive films in return. From a swimming pool drowning and a horrible suicide to a woman who’s obsessed with beauty and a dismembered corpse, the students realise (but of course) that there is a price to be paid for making the dead produce your films.

We are sure this production will be a commercial success because it is, after all, of the horror genre (people like to pay to scare themselves silly in the theatres, remember?). And the fact that this movie is rated NC16 by our friends in the regulatory board means it’s got some good scares to offer – and truly it does. While there was no excessive blood and gore in this film, the scenes are intense and there is little breathing space in between the sequences. Watch out as a man is seen struggling against an unseen force from under water in a swimming pool; an angry female ghost forces itself through the grilles of a prison cell, and our favourite: a scene of a woman slitting her face with a pair of scissors and gouging under the skin to remove needles that she believes had been implanted there.

Kern does good work linking the stories together, before the big finale. However, not everyone in the ensemble cast delivers. You have sometimes cringe worthyacting from the younger and more inexperienced (but as you’d expect – good looking) actors, while the more veteran members (kudos to Vincent Tee, Mike Kasem and Daniel Jenkins) are wonderful in their roles. Familiar names like Lim Yu Beng, Pamelyn Chee, Lim Kay Tong and Keagan Kang also pop up to add star power.

This recommended horror flick may not be perfect, but there is some old school scary fun to be uncovered. 

Movie Rating:

(This collection of horror stories delivers in the scare department - something we've been missing in local horror movies)

Review by John Li