After Death is a 2023 American documentary film written and directed by Stephen Gray and Chris Radtke. The film chronicles the stories of various near-death experience survivors, and features analysis of these events by authors and scientists as they try to determine what happens after people die.[3] The film features interviews, as well as re-enactments of events, as the people in the documentary discuss what may happen after death.[4][5] It received mixed reviews from critics.
| After Death | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stephen Gray Chris Radtke |
| Written by | Stephen Gray Chris Radtke |
| Produced by | Jason Pamer Jens Jacob |
| Cinematography | Austin Straub |
| Music by | Hannah Parrott |
Production companies | Sypher Studios Theora Films |
| Distributed by | Angel Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $11.8 million[1][2] |
Cast
editInterviewees
- John Burke – New York Times bestselling author of Imagine Heaven and founding pastor of Gateway Church Austin
- Dr. Mary Neal – orthopedic surgeon and author of To Heaven and Back[6]
- Dr. Michael Sabom – a cardiologist
- Dr. Jeffrey Long – author of Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
- Dr. Raymond Moody – psychiatrist and author of Life After Life
- Dale Black – former airline pilot, author of Flight to Heaven[7] and Visiting Heaven[8]
- Don Piper – an ordained minister and author of 90 Minutes in Heaven. Piper was involved in a head-on crash with a tractor trailer in 1989 and claimed that he went to the gates of Heaven where he was greeted by his late grandfather.
- Howard Storm – a minister and author of My Descent Into Death
- Paul Ojeda – founder of Austin Powerhouse Church
- Swen Spjut – a district attorney investigator
- Dr. Ajmal Zemmar – Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at University of Louisville[9]
- Dean Braxton – a licensed minister and author of In Heaven!: Experiencing the Throne of God
- Dr. Karl Greene – a neurosurgeon
- Steve Kang – author of From Hell to Heaven: Buddhism to Christianity through the Gospel of Jesus and a Near Death Experience
- Anita Onarecker Wood – Director of Education and Evangelism for the Memorial Baptist Church and author of Divine Appointment: Our Journey to the Bridge
- Eva Piper – author of A Walk Through the Dark
Re-enactment
- Koko Marshall as Beverly
- Michael Jovanovski as Gene
- Kate Duffy as Eva
- Doug Lito as Howard
- Drew Neal Horton as Chuck
- Nicholas Saenz as Don
- Fabian Jaime as Paul
- Chetavious Davis as Dr. Greene
- Ryan Mcarthy as Dr. Sabom
- Nick McCloud as Dale
Production
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Release
editBox office
editThe film was released on October 27, 2023, in 2,605 theaters in the United States and Canada.[10] It made $2.1 million on its first day and a total of $5.1 million in its opening weekend, finishing in fourth.[11]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10.[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 28 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[13] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it an 88% overall positive score, with 62% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[11]
RogerEbert.com's Nick Allen, rating the film 0.5 of 4 stars, felt it "barely works as an infomercial". He went on to say "Midway through, the superficial After Death thinks you have been sold on these transcendental experiences (and maybe you have)… [It's] all about the spectacle and the emotion it can create from such an experience, and it then curdles with a creepiness when it lets people talk for longer."[14] Variety's Owen Gleiberman similarly criticized After Death's approach, writing "After a while… we start to notice that the film is presenting the recoveries themselves as miracles… That's fine; maybe it's even faith. But when faith feels compelled to sell itself by pretending it's something else, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's propaganda."[15] Indiewire's David Ehrlich, giving it a "D" grade, was also negative: "Audiences who swear by the gospel of Colton Burpo probably won't see the problem here, but those of us who are less inclined to believe… might struggle to accept a handful of teary anecdotes and bizarre medical anomalies as compelling evidence that Christianity got everything right about life after death. On the contrary, such viewers are liable to be left with more questions than answers."[16]
References
edit- ^ "After Death — Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ "After Death (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Sarachik, Justin (September 19, 2023). "'AFTER DEATH' by Angel Studios Explores the Afterlife with Theatrical Release". Rapzilla. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ O'Leary, Denyse (October 8, 2023). "WILL STUDIO'S NEW "AFTER DEATH" BE A HIT LIKE "SOUND OF FREEDOM"?". Mind Matters. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ Wise, Talia (October 6, 2023). "Cardiologist, Oncologist, Engineer Reveal Stunning Evidence of Afterlife in New Angel Studios Film". CBN. Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ "To Heaven and Back". Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ "Flight to Heaven". Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ Black, Captain Dale; Kay, Randy (August 28, 2023). Visiting Heaven: Heavenly Keys to a Life Without Limitations. Destiny Image Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7684-6334-7.
- ^ "School of Medicine". louisville.edu. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ Stone, Adam (October 9, 2023). "Prominent New Castle Man Reveals Childhood Near-Death Experience". The Examiner. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 28, 2023). "'Five Nights At Freddy's' $78M Busting All Sorts Of Opening Records: Best For Halloween, Peacock Day & Date, Etc. – Box Office Update Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ "After Death". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
- ^ "After Death". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ Allen, Nick (October 27, 2023). "After Death". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (October 31, 2023). "'After Death' Review: A Faith-Based Documentary Pretends That the Afterlife Is Science". Variety. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ^ Ehrlich, David (October 25, 2023). "'After Death' Review: Studio Behind 'Sound of Freedom' Returns with Brain-Dead Documentary About Near-Death Experiences". Indiewire. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
