Aftershock (2012)
Starring: Eli Roth, Ariel Levy, Nicolas Martinez
Writers: Guillermo Amoedo, Nicolas Lopez, Eli Roth
Director: Nicolas Lopez
Story:
A group of travelers are partying it up in a Chilean nightclub
when an earthquake hits. The survivors make it out of the now devastated club
and onto the streets, where they are met with death, destruction, crime, and
the warning of a tsunami.
I love when a movie can shift gears within seconds, changing
from a 'party your ass off' good time, to some heated bickering, to BAM! Fucking
earthquake, shattering any good or bad moment that took place beforehand.
Aftershock does this around the 30 minute mark. Up until that point, it just
came off like a “let’s get wasted and laid” type of flick, which I would have
been cool with. But once a massive earthquake ravages Chile while are main
characters are getting plastered in an underground nightclub, there is
absolutely no more semblance of a good time whatsoever. Matter of fact, it’s downright
nasty for the remainder.
I wouldn't call Aftershock an all-out horror movie, or even
a full on disaster movie. Most of the time is spent on demonstrating how completely primitive
man would or could act in the aftermath of a cataclysmic event. If trying to
escape a city in total shambles isn't bad enough, the movie adds the worry
of escaped prisoners into the mix. There’s crime, rape, and murder going
on everywhere, mixed with death from the actual event around every corner. The
movie rarely shies away from any of the awfulness, either. When all is said and
done, the earthquake and impending threat of a tsunami is actually the least of
our characters’ worries.
The movie is filled with some pretty deplorable characters. It’s hard to judge how I would operate after a tragedy
such is what’s handed to the people in Aftershock, but I’d like to think I’d
have more morality left within me than what some of these fuckers have. Performances
are actually pretty on point from everyone. I felt like the two standouts were
Eli Roth as Gringo and Andrea Osvart as Monica. I've personally always liked
Roth in front of the camera, from Cabin Fever, to Inglourious Basterds, to this,
which I think is his best performance yet. Nicolas Martinez is solid as Pollo,
as well. Not a very likable character at the core, but pretty damn funny, and
not as cold as he initially comes off as.
As far as SFX go, Aftershock isn't stingy with the gore and
most of it is fairly realistic. There’s a lot of nasty shit thrown across the
screen once or characters make it of the club and into the city streets. Hell,
even in the club there’s some sick mega fuck shit going on. When it comes to
visual FX, they’re basically what you’d expect from a low budgeter. Not very
convincing, but thankfully the lot of them aren't focused on long enough to
take you out of the experience.
Overall, I thought Aftershock was a pretty badass little
flick. The first act has some truly funny stuff going on, and it made it really
easy for me to dig on some of the characters. This made the introduction of the
earthquake that much more impactful. It begins with a bit of charm, and I’d almost forgotten what I was ultimately in for. There’s a lot of mixed
feelings circling around on the net about this movie, which is pretty much the
case with everything anymore, but especially when Eli Roth’s name is attached. I've
always liked the guy, liked his films, and dug his roles, as well. Aftershock -which
he also co-wrote- serves as no exception.
Savor these kinds of shots while you can, because once they're gone, they're really gone.
Also, Eli Roth is hot. Just sayin'.
-Brobocop Entering Sleep Mode
