After the Pandemic (2022) Review

After the Pandemic (2022) Review

A dark sci-fi thriller set around the Covid-19 pandemic, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a global airborne pandemic has wiped out 90% of the Earth’s population and only the young and immune have endured as scavengers. For Ellie and Quinn, the daily challenges to stay alive are compounded when they become hunted by the merciless Stalkers. Their perilous journey culminates with a sacrifice, death, and redemption.

Described by UK Film Review as ‘a combination between A QUIET PLACE and I AM LEGEND’ writer and director Richard Lowry’s AFTER THE PANDEMIC is a slow-paced affair that remains dialogue-free for the first twenty minutes creating a nice sense of mood that’s backed up by a decent synth score.

Initially I was confused at to whether AFTER THE PANDEMIC related to Covid-19 and got to wondering why infected folks resembled Oompa Loompa’s from CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Once I had sussed that the story related to another deadly virus (I should have paid more attention to the explanatory dialogue over the film’s opening credits) then my thought processes settled into place, and I was able to savour what was playing out on screen.

The story follows two young girls – Ellie (Eve James) and Quinn (Kannon Smith), one soft around the edges and the other tougher and less resistant to teaming up – as they trudge around barren landscapes and empty properties to avoid detection by the Stalkers. It’s not bad as far as lower budget fare goes and although there’s little here that hasn’t been done before it fills up the time nicely and will appeal to those amongst you that do not have an aversion towards lower-budget fare.

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