Made nearly ten
years ago, “Afterlife” is only now finding its way to home entertainment, and
the reason is clear to find in the cast members. This British horror series
stars Andrew Lincoln of “The Walking Dead” fame, with ghosts rather than
zombies for the actor to take on. Unfortunately, the series feels more than ten
years old, with a dated and cliché narrative structure. Ghost stories are
difficult to make engaging, and “Afterlife” does little to update or modernize
the tired clichés of the genre. In many ways this series is The Sixth Sense in
episodic form, with a gifted medium burdened with the task of helping all of
the dead ghosts she encounters. Season two even begins with a narrative in
which the dead are unaware they are no longer alive, a further reminder of the
1999 box office phenomenon.
There were only
two seasons of “Afterlife,” and a majority of the episodes were in this second
season. Although season one only had six episodes, season two has bumped the number
up to eight. The storylines and production values seemed to have also
increased, but apparently it was not enough to ensure a third season. All eight
episodes are included on two discs, along with a behind-the-scenes featurette
on the second disc.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 4/10
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