Afterparty - DVD

Film: While Carlos (Lucho Fernández) is a celebrated TV star. But all the hoopla that comes with it is getting to be too much for him. Especially after in the press and various Internet forums his relationship with his series partner Maria (Ursula Corberó) and their end has been exploited to the smallest detail. Carlos has actually long since finished with his successful horror series, now he dreams of a career in Hollywood. That's why he has little desire to go to the big studio party at the end of the current season, where he's only supposed to kiss the butts of the producers and studio bosses anyway. Instead, he prefers to celebrate exuberantly at a party thrown by some girls from his fan forum. Drugs, alcohol, hot girls and unrestrained sex - this night could not have gone any better. When Carlos wakes up the next morning next to the attractive Carla (Alicia Sanz), he is in a good mood apart from a nasty hangover. That changes abruptly when he discovers that the sprawling mansion where the boisterous party was held is now completely sealed off and he is locked in with Carla, Lucia (Rocio León) and Alex (Ana Caldas). What at first looks like a bad joke by Ana (Andrea Dueso), a friend of the girls, soon turns out to be a deadly trap. For the four trapped are not alone...

Afterparty is a Spanish horror thriller that mixes elements of Scream, Sorority Row or Haunted Hill with a dash of party movie a la Hangover. A little splatter, some sex, attractive actors and an atmospheric dark location - actually the best ingredients for decent genre entertainment. And that's what the film delivers on the whole. Admittedly, the dialogues are rather flat, the acting of some actors a bit wooden and the dramaturgy not exactly original. But even if the big plot twist is quickly predictable for connoisseurs of the genre, the entertainment value is actually throughout on a good level.

The last two minutes make the story then even something like a little bit of satire on the merciless entertainment industry. But unfortunately this is too late and far too little to give the film some depth of content. The potential to do so would have been there, but is only marginally used. Instead, director Miguel Larraya relies on well-tried ingredients of common slasher movies in his feature film debut, which he mixed together in an entertaining, but unsurprising way. However, that shouldn't be what some horror fans will be bothered by. For them, the biggest weakness will be that the film, despite some pretty gory moments, has turned out quite harmless overall and there is too much talking and partying in the short 76 minutes to let real suspense and thrills arise.

Nevertheless, Afterparty, despite weaknesses that cannot be denied, offers enough entertainment value to pass as worth seeing. If you're not expecting a big hit and like films like Sorority Row, you can safely accept the invitation to see Afterparty!

Picture + Sound:The DVD's clean picture has decent overall sharpness, though there are small weaknesses in detail here and there in the numerous darker scenes. The audio has some atmospheric surround effects, but overall they are less than spectacular. Dialogue is well intelligible, though also very centrally mixed. Not an audiovisual revelation, but on balance perfectly fine. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD offers only the trailer to the film.

Conclusion: Afterparty is a Spanish horror film, the genre little new sides won, but quite decent to entertain knows. Although the tension is limited, the mansion in which the bloody goings-on take place is very atmospheric and the actors are quite convincing despite the rather stereotypical character drawing. The resolution is not really surprising, but has an almost media satire bordering bite due to the successful ending. Not quite a big hit, but entertaining slasher entertainment offers this party all the time. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp