In The Aftermath is a 1988 independent film directed by Carl Colpaert and is known for being loosely based on and using footage from Mamoru Oshii’s 1985 film Angels Egg. The film stars Toney Markes, Kenneth McCabe, Bryan Ellenburg, Lisa Maxwell, Mike Hickam, Rainbow Dolan, Kurtiss J. Tews, Ian Ruskin, Filiz Tully and Katie Leigh. The film centres around the survivors of a postapocalyptic earth as an angel descends to help the survivors. In the Aftermath is a mediocre postapocalyptic film, the movie is not partially good but it’s to unique and bizarre a film for to just be bad and results in if nothing else an interesting experience.
The direction in the film is decent. The parts of the anime Angels Egg that are used in the film have a disinvite otherworldly mood and a surreal style, the film also uses different music that in some scenes is effective and in others doesn’t fit. A big problem in the film is the lack of subtlety compared to the original with the voice over of the girl in the original anime, the film on one hand has a weird vagueness to it whilst also at the name time being obvious in what it is trying to say. The Angels Egg footage at least look great and there is a good match cut in h film were an animated feather turns into a life action one. Two survivors end up finding a feather and roam the post-apocalyptic wasteland as again the film has a good, bizarre feel to it. The film creates a good creepy atmosphere despite the low budget which is created using good creepy music creating a good otherworldly feel.
The acting in the film is mediocre and the pacing of the film is slow and boring. The action scenes in the film come off as unemotionally goofy, however the film does have a good weird surreal otherworldly style to it. The film has a good use of twists and turns as it seems like both main characters are dead 18 minutes into the movie, however it turns out Frank is still alive. The film uses footage from the anime of the girl as insert shots to help move the story alone, as in a cool looking scene the anime characters of the girl is placed in the live action footage. The film has a good music and a creepy otherworldly tone, and again has a cool effect were the anime girl turns into a live action girl and runs off as she was too afraid. There is defiantly a low budget campiness that creates a good otherworldly feel to it as the film has interesting transitions between live action and animation. The film has great animation but the voice over strips all the subtly out of the film, whoever the anime footage still manages to have a great otherworldly feel to it. The film has a gritty grungy feel to it were the low budget works as there is a surreal otherworldly style and tone to it. There is an interesting use of match cuts as frank drinking water form tap as it cuts to the anime were the girl collects water from the fountain, the film has a decent use of tension and release with am musical score that invokes a sense of dread. The anime footage with the fish is used differently from the original anime as it invokes a sort of coronary tale about traveling to places beyond the limits of what you know, as everything has a good post-apocalyptic and dire look to it.
The film contains cool imagery such as Frank in a gas mask playing the piano intercut with imagery of Sarah past as well as footage form angels’ egg, as the anime imagery combined with the music goes give a good otherworldly tone to the film. Frank then sees the drawing of the girl holding her broken egg as it shows the two worlds are connected, the film comes across like an unintentional comedy at times with the changes in the anime’s storyline. The film has intentional hilarity to it with the weird, bizarre chase scene cutting between live action and animation. The girl then appears turning into a live action as she tells frank this is not the true earth and gives him the egg as she disappears. The film has an unusual tone in its climax both hopeful and unnerving making for an interesting feeling. The film has a good surreal otherworldly feel to it. Frank takes the egg back and meet up with Sarah, as the girl who gave him the egg and her brother part ways so that she becomes her own person. She falls of a cliff and kisses a reflection of herself in the water as she dives down causing a mass number of eggs to rise to the service as her brother stands alone on the land as the eye of God comes up from the sea with people praying and her holding her egg as a statue, in a bizarre insane climax that makes less sense than the original film. At the end of the film Frank and Sarah find an angle father belonging to the girl as the sky turns to fire and the egg glows blue and releases a blue energy beam and makes the sky clearer as they no longer live in an irradiated wasteland, they have clean air as the film cuts to the anime of the birds sleeping in the eggs.
The acting in the film is decent. Tony Markes does a good job as Frank playing the straight man protagonist scientist of the film. Kenneth McCabe does a good job as Goose the comedic relief scientist that dies at the start of the film. Bryan Ellenburg does a good job as soldier in the film. Lisa Maxwell does a good job of playing the voice of the older angel in the film. Mike Hickan does a good job as the Officer in the film. Rainbow Dolan does a good job as the Angel in the film a young mysterious girl the Frank follows. Kurtiss J. Tews does a good job as the Psycho Soldier in the film. Ian Ruskin does a good job as the voice of Jonathan in the film. Filliz Tully does a good job as Dr. Sarah in the film. Katie Leigh dos a good job as the voice of the angel in the film.
The writing in the film is decent. The Angels Egg footage like the original film is purposely vague and leaves a lot open for interpretation, although the voice over makes the story clear it also strips all the subtlety form it as well as changing the story as they are now brother and sister. There dynamic is further changed along with the plot as the girl is sent on a mission, as the toe survivors find a feather and roam the post-apocalyptic wasteland. The films comedy is bad and doesn’t work, the film shows that danger is everywhere as they are looking for water and find acid. The dialogue in the film is bad and the film is very much a slow burn and boring in parts. Goose gets into a fight with a survivor and is killed, which is kind of interesting in how one of the supposed main characters is killed 17 minutes into the film. The scavenger shoots Frank but he survives as the film uses voice over of the angel to talk about them. The voice over of the angle is unsuitable with the anime footage, as shown when the anime character of the girl appears to the solider in live action footage. In this footage she appears then runs off as she’s too afraid as the solider followers her. The voice over in the film takes away all potentially subtilty however it does make it easier to understand than the original, with the original anime footage still being able to have a great otherworldly feel to it.
Frank then wakes up in a hospital, as the anime footage is used in an interesting way making a new story from it and creating new characters. A person wearing a hazmat suit then comes into his hospital and reveals herself to be a doctor. The anime footage the explains that the angel and her brother were asked by a evil person to lead then to this other planet so they can get the giant fish and when they refused to take him he stole a map and killed all the fish, again in trying to make the film more logical it guts all the meaning and intrigue from the story as well as making it in some way more incomprehensible. They are on that planet and the evil person in on earth and knows where they are as the whale and spear scene from the original film is now used as a sort of warning. The talk in the film about the girl carrying an egg tries to give the plot of the film more logic but makes the film more illogical and less subtle however, Frank playing the piano is the best scene in the film and the only scene with some subtlety. The film uses anime footage to show the girl sleeping but ads new explanations saying she can’t sleep as she’s an angel. In the scene were her brother takes her egg and smashes it she awakens to find her egg broken leading to a bizarrely written scene where she states she angry but the film, doesn’t really show it as all as her ignorantly went to find the egg which comes across like a plot hole.
Frank then sees a drawing of the girl holding her broken egg as this scene shows that the two worlds are connected as the girl is destroyed over the loss of her egg and urns off to find her brother. The film has unintentional humour to it as he gives her a second egg. The film is very unstable as the girl’s voiceover explains their plot shown with the live action footage of the scientist coming to save her as well as her brother. The anime girl then appears turning into a live action girl and tells frank this is not the true earth and gives him an egg before disappearing in a very confusing scene and disjoined part of the plot. The climax has a very surreal and otherworldly feel. Frank takes the egg back and meets up with Sarah as the girl gives them the egg to save the earth. The girl and her brother part ways as again the film is more obvious with her talking about her becoming her own person. She then falls of a cliff and kisses a reflection of herself in the water. She then dives down causing mass eggs too rise to the service as her brother stand alone on the planet as the eye of God comes up from the sea with people praying and her holding her egg in now a statue in a very bizarre and beautiful moment. The film ends with Frank and Sarah finding an angel feather that belongs to the girl as the sky turns to fire and the egg glows blue. A blue energy bream is released that makes the sky clear as they are now no longer life in an irradiated wasteland and have clean air as the film cuts to footage of the anime of birds sleeping int the eggs.
The cinematography in the film is decent. The Angels Egg anime footage in the film looks beautiful, however the live action portions have a brown boring ugly look witch also kind of fits with the tone of the film. There is a great use of match cutting in one scene where an animated feather becomes live action as well as a good, irritated look to the film. There is a good and interesting shot where the anime character of the girl is placed into the live action footage as she then tuns into live action girl. The animation of Angels Egg used in the film is good. The film also has a good effect when the sky turns into fire as well as cool silhouette shots.
The special effects in the film are decent in a fun b-movie kind of way. The has mat suits and guns with the soldiers as well as a spear in the character aren’t great but have a certain b-movie charm to them. The film has cheap practical blood effects that don’t look terrible for the budget as well as a very cool effect as the anime character of the girl is placed into live action footage. This effect further becomes more interesting as the anime girl turns into live action girl, the anime segments in the film also look beautiful. The live action practical egg prop looks decent, also the first sky effect at the ned looks really cool as well as this there is a cool effect were a glowing blue egg releases a blue energy beam.
As a post-apocalyptic film In the Aftermath is mediocre. However, the uniqueness of the film is so bizarre that it makes the film far to interesting an experience to simply be labelled as bad.
