"Afterschool": Review of the Indie Film from IFC

From IFC Films, comes writer-director Antonio Campos' take on the internet age and boarding school violence titled "Afterschool". I recently got my hands on the DVD of the film and was surprised by all the superlatives heaped upon the movie even though I found it slow, boring and lacking in character development. The director had a nice idea with the story but in the end, lacked cohesiveness when it comes to executing the film. Here is an excerpt of my review on DVDTown.com:

"Writer-director Antonio Campos cut his teeth in the movie business producing well-received short films like “Buy It Now” and “The Last 15.” So it was no surprise that Campos' feature-length film debut, “Afterschool” came with plenty of wind behind its sails. There are more than a couple of film festival official selection accolades (Cannes, New York, SXSW) plus favorable critics' quotes plastered on the front and back cover of the “Afterschool” DVD. One critic was even quoted hailing Campos as a “cinematic disciple of Kubrick and a latter period Gus Van Sant.” In “Afterschool,” I agree that there is a tinge of Kubrick's long tracking shots and a hint of Van Sant's uncomfortably surreal take on school violence from “Elephant” but those worthy elements are largely erased by Campos' lack of character development and unquestionably boring script. Style over substance can only get you that far."


For read the full review, link to it here.