AFTER LAST SEASON – Well, what the f*ck is this, really? Whereas some flicks strain to seem dream-like and odd only to come across as exotic as a day-trip to Wilko's, 'After Last Season' will effortlessly make your mind feel like it's being sucked down a malevolent cosmic drain. There is a backstory to 'After Last Season' which is fascinating and ultimately as enigmatic as the film itself, but it's too involved to go into here, so, do some research if you're interested. As for what ALS is about... OK, the gist of it concerns two medical students who seem to work for a sinister sounding corporation, and who try out a new telepathic technique in an attempt to investigate some killings which have been happening on campus. The killer is identified as a ghost, but then it turns out that it's all a dream anyway. You won't care if that's a spoiler or not, because there is a ghost involved after all, only it appears more interested in giving dry information about how it can move a spirit level than killing people, leaving the actual murderer to be revealed in an utterly underwhelming 'climax'. My synopsis probably makes ALS sound at least a bit weird, but trust me, we haven't even scratched the surface. For one thing, there's the sets – they're utterly threadbare. There's what's supposed to be an MRI scanner, and it looks like a ring of cardboard. The rooms where all the 'action' takes place are like those of a management suite undergoing repairs, harshly lit by someone who knows even less about that kind of stuff than I. The performances take this strangeness up a notch - characters deliver long, disinterested monologues about trivia whilst looking as dynamic as corpses. But the really weird, unnerving aspect of 'After Last Season' is the way it constantly cuts away from people and actions to show static objects – fittings, walls, corners, doors. Or better still, signs – arrows, diagrams, or sequential arrays of A4 paper bearing no apparent messages. Just weird. What can it possibly mean? And of course, there's the ultra primitive CGI dream sequence ghost bit, but I can't even bring myself to describe that. I've seen plenty of bizarre films, but never have I been left so baffled. The jury's out on whether 'After Last Season' is an avant-garde prank, a genuine piece of outsider art or the outcome of a complicated situation and some bad decisions. But for me, beyond the goofiness of the bad sets and stilted acting it captures a really chilly, alien state of mind. I don't think it's available on DVD any more, but can be found on YouTube.
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