After Last Season

After Last Season is a 2009 American drama film written, directed, produced, and shot by Mark Region.[1] The film stars Jason Kulas and Peggy McClellan as medical students who use experimental neural microchips to discover the identity of a killer who has been murdering their classmates during the fall of Yugoslavia.

After Last Season
Promotional release poster
Directed byMark Region
Produced byMark Region
Written byMark Region
Starring
  • Jason Kulas
  • Peggy McClellan
  • Scott Winters
  • Casey McDougal
Music byMichael Windham
CinematographyMark Region
Edited byVincent Grass
Release date
  • June 5, 2009 (2009-06-05)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]

The film received negative reviews, with criticism being aimed at its acting, visuals, animations, and the perceived convolution of its plot. The film grossed so little in the few theatres it was shown at, the film's reels were destroyed, as this was cheaper than returning them.

In 2016, YouTuber ralphthemoviemaker reviewed the film, calling it the “Worst Movie of All Time.” His review increased awareness of the film.

Premise

Matthew Andrews and Sarah Austin are medical interns studying neurology at the Prorolis Corporation. When a serial killer begins murdering their fellow students, they use experimental chips to visualize the events of the crimes. They conclude through these visualizations that they may be able to see, and therefore prevent, the next murder before it occurs, and learn that the killer is a ghost. It is revealed at the end of the film that the events were all a dream.

Cast
  • Jason Kulas as Matthew Andrews
  • Peggy McClellan as Sarah Austin
  • Scott Winters as Dr. John Marlen
  • Casey McDougal as Anne Plaven
  • Joan-Marie Dewsnap as Haley Marlen

Production

Director Mark Region has cited The Sixth Sense and The Exorcist as inspirations for After Last Season. The film was shot on 35mm film, and principal photography took place over five or six days in one house with fake medical equipment made from cardboard. According to Region, the film had a budget of $5 million, with $30,000 to $40,000 spent on filming and the majority of the remaining amount spent on the film's computer animated neural visualization sequences.[1]

Release and reception

The trailer for After Last Season was released in March 2009, and rumors began to circulate on the Internet that the trailer was part of a viral marketing campaign by director Spike Jonze, in promotion of his then-upcoming film Where the Wild Things Are.[2] Several websites even called into question whether or not director Mark Region is actually a real person.[2][3] Lindsay Robertson of Stereogum wrote that the trailer "seems like it could only have been made in a parallel universe that irony forgot. Or written and directed by a small child."[4]

The film premiered on June 5, 2009, receiving a limited release in Lancaster, California, Austin, Texas, North Aurora, Illinois, and Rochester, New York.[1] Among the audience members who attended these screenings, a viewer in Rochester called the film "amazingly bad", while a viewer in Austin stated: "it was a total mindfuck. It can really only be described as a lesson in self control because at first, I wanted to leave, then I wanted to scream at the movie, then it became funny, and then it reached that level where it crawls under your skin and agitates you with the questions that rise from having been witness to it."[5]

Film critic Scott Von Doviak wrote that the film is "intensely boring, thoroughly disorienting and so technically incompetent it achieves several deeply unnerving effects entirely by accident."[6]

References
  1. Macaulay, Scott (June 9, 2009). "Interview : After Last Season's Mark Region". Filmmaker Magazine. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  2. Collis, Clark (July 14, 2009). "Is 'After Last Season' part of the 'Where The Wild Things Are' campaign, or just the weirdest movie of the year?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  3. Mancini, Vince (June 4, 2009). "What's The Deal With 'After Last Season'?". Uproxx. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  4. Robertson, Lindsay (March 11, 2009). "Nothing Can Prepare You For The After Last Season Trailer". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  5. Robertson, Lindsay (June 8, 2009). "After Last Season Leaves Audiences With More Questions Than Answers". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  6. Von Doviak, Scott (June 7, 2009). "Review: After Last Season". Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2016 – via WordPress.
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