
Its ruthless and realistic depiction of grisly autopsies and a sinister surgeon with an inclination towards violent necrophilia has some of the hardest scenes to stomach in any horror movie, period." Awards and nominations Īftermath won in the category "Best Short Film" at the 1997 Fantasia Festival.Extraordinarily grisly short film (part of a trilogy) that has been mistakenly (in perhaps the most indefensible case of wish fulfillment ever) cited as a work of art in some circles, (Then again, there was a point in time when “The Devil in Miss Jones” was favorable compared to Bergman instead of identified as the rank piece of pornography it is.) when in fact it is an obvious example of aesthetic judgment run berserk. Bloody Disgusting rated it four and half out of five stars and wrote, "Aftermath, is definitely one of the most controversial films of the last couple of decades. Or you may see something very insightful. You may see nothing more in it than fetishism gone foul, however. While the ending is quite unnerving, the rest of Aftermath is an equally uneasy ordeal. Treating the departed as nothing more than a plaything for the fulfillment of one's most twisted desires almost erases any grander theme. Indeed, one could argue that Cerdà is making a larger point about defying death. While nothing is shown outright, the implication is repellent enough. It is not just carnal it is filled with volatility and extreme violence.
#AFTERMATH 1994 MOVIE#
Yet, at its core it is subtle, hauntingly beautiful, and every bit as rich in detail and composition as any other great film has ever been." DVD Talk awarded four and a half out of five stars and wrote, "The necrophilia in this movie is very disturbing. ( May 2019)Ĭritical reception for Aftermath has been mixed to positive, with some critics praising the film for its unflinching attention to detail, while others criticized the film for those same merits.ĭread Central wrote, "It is intense.

As a baby's cries emanate from the television, the scraps of the newspaper the dog is eating the heart off of are shown to contain Marta's obituary. In his home, the pajama-clad mortician blends Marta's stolen heart into a pulp, which he gives to his dog before proceeding to relax in his sitting room. Unable to contain his lust any longer, the mortician engages in necrophilia, after setting his camera on automatic to record the event.Īfterward, the mortician autopsies Marta, cleans up and leaves. The mortician masturbates to orgasm while fondling Marta's breasts and innards, then takes photographs of his handiwork. The morticians complete their work on the dead men, and while one leaves, the other remains, and brings in Marta's body.Īroused by Marta, the mortician locks himself in the morgue with her body, undresses it, removes the brain, and caresses it with a knife, which he uses to mutilate Marta's vagina, and cut open her torso. The orderly overhears two workers performing autopsies on a pair of male bodies, looks in on them out of curiosity and leaves when one of the morticians (who is disturbingly enthused by his duties) glares at him. An orderly wheels Marta's body into a morgue drawer, past a mourning couple, who a nurse gives a crucifix necklace. Containing no spoken dialogue, Aftermath is the second installment in a trilogy of shorts by Cerdà, preceded by 1990's The Awakening, and followed by 1998's Genesis.Ī woman named Marta Arnau Marti dies in a car crash, after accidentally running over a dog.

Aftermath is a 1994 Spanish horror short film written and directed by Nacho Cerdà.
