After (2012)

Yesterday, I was told that the famed rodent Punxsutawney Phil announced six more weeks of winter. Today, I proclaim that Phil is #NotMyGroundhog. To help prepare for this added time, I decided to kick back with a few movies. The first was the 2012 mystery/thriller After.

Plot/ When two bus crash survivors awake to discover that they are the only people left in their small town, they must form an unlikely alliance in a race to unravel the truth behind their isolation. As strange events begin to unfold, they start to question whether the town they know so well is really what it seems.

When I picked this one up at Family Video, it was almost an afterthought. Fortunately, this is better than I expected from the synopsis. I love the mixture of genres and think that the tale, while simple, moved really well. The acting was decent, the scripting interesting, and the atmosphere matched the darkness of the storyline. Yes, there were some weird pacing issues and the love story elements seemed a bit forced at times, but overall it was an entertaining low budget story. In the end, this was a decent movie to curl up and watch on a chilly Pennsylvania night. If like me you want to stay out of the cold, this could help pass the time.