Aftershock
I think we can all agree that Eli Roth seems like a great guy to hang around with as he loves horror, however I wouldn’t possibly want to go on a trip with him. If the Hostel series was horrible enough, after it, we get Aftershock, a 2012 film, written by Guillermo Amoedo (a story by Roth) and directed by Nicolas Lopez about a bunch of party goers who while attending a party in Chile, become victims of an 8.8 earthquake.
Gringo (Eli Roth), Ariel (Ariel Levy) and Pollo (Nicolas Martinez) are on vacation when they meet Hungarians Monica (Andrea Osvart), Kylie (Lorenza Izzo) and Irina (Natasha Yarovenko). They entice the girls to go out with them that night and take them around Valparaiso the next day. On the following night all six are in a certain club and all of the people there are having a good time when an earthquake strikes and they are first of all trying to get away from the club which is falling to pieces, and then escape from the building; and if the disaster is not enough there is also a chance of tidal waves.
However, it is not easy to get to safety considering the earthquake that has just occurred and all the pandemonium that ensues as virtually all the established social norms go out the window especially after the local prison has been leveled so that its inmates are able to escape, and when they see the Hungarians running by, they think such sights are worth pursuing.
What follows is sheer night with an endless panoply of near men, and, basically, many will not survive.
There are two reasons as to why I have chosen this particular movie. First is the fact that I admire Roth as an actor and I do feel that he is not featured in many films. An unorthodox role here and there without crediting is nice, but I wanted to see more of him and how he would perform in such a role. And I’s pleased to say that he is a far better actor than what I initially thought he would be.
Second, I wanted to see it because I like movies about success especially when overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. I like them because in most stories like that, there’s going to be a series of incidents and the writer in me wants to know how others depict these situations on screen. What were the transitions like in the telling and what amount of effort was put into ensuring the events unfolded as naturally as possible.
And going by the synopsis of this movie a group of parties are trapped underground during some earthquake, and the struggle is after them, when they have to survive the after effects I expected this was going to be that type of movie.
Unfortunately, this was precisely what the film was. And I understand that’s what I wanted to see, but it wouldn’t hurt to at least give the character some depth. Or something. The story here is, as I feared, plot point a goes into point b goes into point c, sometimes with a touch of luck or in the case of the fireman who pulled double duty as kitchen sink plot device, twice, a large dose of luck – or in the case of Aftershock, it was a good movie, but rather mindless and vain attempting to achieve something significant above and beyond very much that very late.
On one hand it was never boring. We don’t even get to the earthquake for over an hour, and the preceding event is just watching these guys fool around and have a good time, but there’s always something going on, something for the eye to latch onto.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is horror for me though. There are the blood and the disorder and people dying all over the place which is bad stuff indeed, but seeing that all this is brought about by the earthquake. I don’t know somehow it feels weird calling a film that has politics in it as a horror film. This town was not shot at by some sniper’s bullet; it just gets caught in disorder.
Of course, the zeal of the escaped inmates who want to go around in a rampage to kill and rape is an evil of man, but this film does not revolve around a horde of prisoner escapees bent on murder and rape, that is just a consequence of the primary cause which is caused by the earthquake and this is what occurs afterwards. And unfortunately, what came next, such as looting and rioting took place because that is how humans behave. However, for me that is not a horror film. That is a disaster film looking at the aftermath of reality.
However, as producer and star Eli Roth is the horror guy, this HAS to be a horror film of sorts even if it really isn’t.
Although the genre is not ideal, it is a good one. I would recommend it easily. It is all just eye candy, so be prepared for that. There is nothing more than meeting the characters and getting yourself immersed into the situation. That’s how deep into this film you are going to go because there is nothing else here, except that. There isn’t even any story, just a chase through the streets of Valparaiso trying not to be killed.
In my opinion, if I must assess this film as a horror genre, it would have to be on average average. It’s simply not frightening. So plenty of good effects, plenty of action and I liked the actors quite a bit. So what if it’s a little falsely advertised, Aftershock is still a quite good movie.
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