[Film Review] After She Died (2022)

For the last three years Australian writer and director Jack Dignan has been hard at work on his debut feature. The result of the fruits of his labour, After She Died, has earned Dignan early comparisons to James Wan. They are big shoes to fill, but are sure to draw attention to the emerging Australian horror voice. 

After She Died joins the recently graduated Jen (Liliana Ritchie) as she tries to traverse the grief felt in the wake of her mother’s death. Her bereavement has caused her to split and become adrift from her friends, especially best friend Cameron (Annabelle Andrew). Jen’s father, John (Paul Talbot), is also struggling and has emotionally closed himself off from her. With nobody to source support from, Jen is isolated and her fragile state of mind is about to be met with the ultimate mind trip. As she returns home one day, Jen discovers her father with his new girlfriend, Florence (Vanessa Madrid). That in itself is confronting enough, but Florence bears an uncanny likeness to Jen’s deceased mother…

Having met Jen’s mother fleetingly at the opening of the film, the viewer becomes Jen’s ally and believer. Whilst John fails to acknowledge their identical appearance, the audience knows that Jen speaks the truth. The mystery remains why and how the two women look alike. Is she a coincidental doppelgänger? A shape-shifting creature that means them harm? Or has her mother somehow been resurrected? 

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At first, it is unclear quite how the comparisons between Dignan and Wan align, outside of them sharing the same country of origin. However, as After She Died progresses, links become more apparent. Wan has a reputation for being a master of the jump-scare and although Dignan does not replicate any here, he has borrowed some ingredients from Wan's recipe. As Florence moves around Jen’s house, she seems to just appear. Each time she appears she is accompanied by an almost insect-like clicking. The sound frays the nerves to a similar level as the violins of Insidious (2010). The critter-esque hint to the noise serves to pose another question about the riddle of Florence; chiefly, is she an insect? Like Wan with Malignant (2021), Dignan delights in toying with audience expectations and goes hard, littering After She Died with elements of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Pet Sematary (1989). 

The young director maintains an air of mystery for much of the first half of the film. After the slowest of slow burns, with much of the horror trappings kept under wraps, Dignan finally drops the curtain. Waiting on the other side of the reveal, is something far darker and satisfying for the patient genre fan. At this point, After She Died kicks into another, bloodier and hallucinogenic gear. As the film takes its final form, haunting imagery splashes across the screen in shades of bright reds and cool blues. Mixed amongst this chaos is a chilling performance by Vanessa Madrid. Dignan may keep aspects of Florence’s truth hidden, but that only holds up due to her intricate performance. Outwardly friendly, there remains an undercurrent of potential threat underneath, constantly causing the viewer to assess their stance on her. 

Three years of blood, sweat and tears have paid off for Dignan. His committed efforts have created an atmospheric hybrid of horror, mystery, and drama that burns slowly before burning brightly.

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