The Here After

A bleak and often distressing drama, Swedish filmmaker Magnus von Horn’s The Here After is a skilful directorial debut, peppered with dramatic tension.

Beautifully-shot stark landscapes and hung silences give subtlety and weight to The Here After's dark subject matter. Von Horn’s film does not shy away from the psychological triggers of and post traumatic stresses following murderous and violent sexual crimes.

Solemnly folding his sheets and packing his bag for his release in film's opening sequence, we do not yet know the severity of why John (Ulrick Munther) is leaving the young offender’s institution, or the events preceding his emotional reunion with his father. In fact, we are kept in the dark for the first half of von Horn's film. It is only when, faced with the prospect of a new relationship with grungy school outcast Malin (a gutsy performance by Loa Ek) is the truth revealed to us.

The Here After explores a fascinating and simultaneously disturbing myriad of perspectives affecting those involved in serious criminal offences. From the nuclear family to the perpetrator’s subsequent relationships to the wider public responses, Magnus von Horn’s new film is a tense and realistic drama with a lot of bite.