The Here After

John did a bad, bad thing. Though it takes a long time to assemble the story, we know it is something evil enough to influence an entire town. Even to make everyone hate him with every fiber of their being. John is still a teenager and fresh out of a two-year stint in prison. Now he has to reintegrate himself with his family, classmates, and hometown. But John can’t even make a trip to the grocery store without being accosted and pummeled by one of the mothers in town. It doesn’t take long for the hostility surrounding John to swell out of control as John’s mental state begins to crumble. Magnus von Horn’s taut and mature debut is an edge-of-your-seat character study that’s full of deceptive turns. The plot of THE HERE AFTER confronts the viewer with a realistic level of tense discomfort. Newcomer Ulrik Munther captivates as the attractive, model-like ex-con who has irreparably fallen from grace. (In Swedish with subtitles) –C.P.