>>12 SERIES ISSUE #05 MAY 12

Afte rma th

Contents
p.1 Plot p.3 The Cast p.5 Trivia p.9 Review

Aftermath is a short horror film by the Spanish director Nacho Cerd made in 1994. It follows a pair of morticians performing graphic autopsies on a pair of corpses. After one leaves for the night, the second begins working on a third body, a young woman identified as Marta Arnau Marti, killed in a car crash. He first mutilates the corpse, then uses it for necrophiliac purposes while taking photographs. After he finishes, he removes the womans heart and completes the autopsy, then takes her heart home and blends it into a fine pulp. The film ends as he feeds his dog the heart while he relaxes and watches TV. There is no spoken dialogue for the duration of the film.

Plot

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The film is 31:52 minutes long and is part of a trilogy of short films, revolving about the subjects of birth (The Awakening, 1990), death (Aftermath, 1994) and rebirth (Genesis, 1998).

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The Cast

XEVI CollEllmIR JoRdI TARRIdA nGel TArris PEP ToSAR

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/i) Genesis (1998 References (1987) nekromantik ist is s the protagon - in both film actices ployee who pr a morgue em organs. d stoles human necrophilia an Referenced in 01) the Beast (20 in the Belly of the director of said film ith ing - interviews w trilogy: this be on to his film in relati part 2

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Trivia
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Do you have anxiety about what will happen to your inflexible, gelid remains after you die?
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Not a pleasant movie to watch ryan Daley

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sure, there arent many serious films about necrophilia; obviously, its not a subject embraced by Hollywood. Jorg Buttgereits nekromantik (1987) is the most obvious example, a fairly perverted but undeniably artistic take on necrophilia that was initially banned upon its theatrical release but has been available on DVD for the last several years. Kissed was released to critical acclaim in 1996, but its subject matter (a young girl, raised in a funeral home, falls in love with a dead body) was too much for most viewers, and the film saw only a very limited theatrical release. nacho Cerdas short film, Aftermath, which involves a morgue workers desecration of a dead body, was recently released on DVD, and weeks later was the victim of a massive retail ban (most Virgin Megastores, among other retailers, have refused to carry the disc). Cerdas film is horribly, unbelievably gruesome, but there is a point to his vision, a method to his madness. Aftermath is not a pleasant movie to watch, but Cerda is a filmmaker working from a deep pool of natural talent, and when subjected to the personal vision of such a strong filmmaker, sometimes subject matter can be forgiven. Cerdas 30-minute film is entirely without dialogue. It opens with two morgue attendants dissecting and sorting the insides of two male corpses. eventually, one of the morgue employees finishes with his body and leaves. Once the coast is clear, the remaining attendant (Pep Tosar) sneaks a female body from one of the morgue drawers and proceeds to violate and mutilate the corpse in all sorts of unimaginable ways. Whether or not Cerdas film is brilliant and stylish isnt going to be an issue with most viewers; the subject matter alone will keep them from renting or buying the disc. A similar situation arose upon the release of Henry: Portrait of a serial Killer in 1986; admittedly, John Mcnaughton had crafted a very serious, very realistic portrayal of what might possibly go on inside the mind of a serial killer, but as roger ebert mentioned at the time, as impressive as the movie is, who really wants to see that deeply into someone so twisted?

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similarly, Aftermath takes itself very seriously; Cerda isnt a director looking to exploit his material, hes looking to make a statement. is the film difficult to sit through? Absolutely. But its difficult not to become involved with the unspeakable horrors depicted. The DVD release of Aftermath includes two other Cerda short films. The Awakening is a choppy but auspicious student short that precedes Aftermath. Genesis, the other short film on the double feature disc, features a sculptor who has lost his wife and attempts to recreate her image in a piece of marble. All three pieces of work discuss, at least to some degree, the futility of our mortal vessels after our demise. Cerda speckles these short films with brief religious imagery, suggesting that its the afterlife that is important to this filmmaker, not the body left behind after death. While watching Aftermath, i found myself wondering what my body might go through after my death, and whether or not i would really care. i believe that this is Cerdas intention, to subject us to the graphic horrors that a human body can undergo before reminding us that the body he is depicting is a dead one, and therefore, the violence doesnt really matter. Although not recommended for all viewers, nacho Cerda is a very talented director with a wide open future. All three of the films on the DVD were without dialogue, and being able to successfully tell a story without dialogue is one of the purest signs of cinematic talent. As a meditation on death and the temporal nature of this mortal coil, Aftermath is highly affecting. Many retailers still carry the Aftermath DVD, although it can be difficult to find, and the cover artwork has been changed to appease the more sensitive retailers.

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12 series issue five

Aftermath