Aftershock (2012)

Review

Murphy's Law is brutally and diligently exploited in this totally unpleasant movie about a group of young American/Chilean travellers who go partying in Santiago and then Valparaíso when the latter city is hit by an earthquake. Like so many awful horror movies before it, this film makes us ever so hopeful thanks to a truthful and patient build-up in which we get to know a handful of quite interesting characters who seem like real human beings. Unfortunately though, there is no limit to how much horror and ultimately evil our poor protagonists must withstand during the film's exploitive second half. And the effect is like it always is when films like these take too many liberties: We stop caring. If you don't respect the viewer's intelligence and limits, you will fail in making a lasting impression other than that of annoyance, and this is particularly true for horror films that go too far without the necessary moral or logical basis. Whereas the depiction of the earthquake here makes you feel the protagonists' pain, the ensuing nonsense only makes you feel your own pain; ie. your regret in choosing to watch film. Eli Roth (of Hostel) co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred.