There was rarely until never a death that was mourned as much as that of David Lynch in the cinephil social media bubble. But also beyond that, the death of the “Twin Peak” Masterminds took a special position: In almost every larger city there was spontaneous cinema retrospectively, where masterpieces such as “Eraserhead”, “Blue Velvet” or “Mulholland Drive “Were played in front of surprisingly well -filled halls. Almost exactly five weeks after the death message, celebrated with “After this death“A film at the Berlinale world premiere that wants to step into the (over) big footsteps of David Lynch quite obviously-and thus painfully shows us that the monolithic canvas visionary will be able to replace so quickly.
Yes, David Lynch was so notorious for his nested, mysterious stories that the term “Lynchian” is now almost as familiar as “Hitchcockesk” or “Shakespearesk”. But one should not make the mistake of believing that Lynch's incomparable style was to mix up a couple with symbols stuffed, surrealistically charged. Instead, with his Labyrinthian stories, he summarizes an uninterrical, fantastic pull effect and a deeply disturbing but at the same time hypnotic atmosphere. But that is exactly what the Argentine director Lucio Castro (“End of the Century”) in “After this Death” is too rare.
The story is very promising on paper
Isabel (Mia Maestro) is married to the wealthy, constantly operating businessman Ted (Rupert Friend). When she meets the mysterious but friendly and incredibly attractive Elliott (Lee Pace) on a hike, he leaves her number on a piece of paper at the end of the path. He is so hidden that only she can definitely find him. But although the rather confident and researcher voice speaker is not necessarily averse to foreign flirting, she does not call at first. Instead, she only meets Elliott by chance when she accompanies her best friend, the music journalist Alice (Gwendoline Christie), to the concert of an esoteric rock band.
Elliott is the front singer of the group, who has very loyal fans, but is still not successful enough to afford roadies to drag the equipment. The heavily pregnant Isabel begins with him a passionate affair, which, however, takes an unexpected turn when Elliott – shortly before his eleventh album was completed – disappears without a trace. The fans are sure that the solution for his whereabouts must be hidden somewhere in his lyrics. They also believe that Isabel could also have a possible indication of decrypting the puzzle, which is why she suddenly gets the first cryptic and increasingly disturbing and threatening news …
Isabel (Mia Maestro) meets the singer Elliott (Lee Pace) at a concert, whose fans tap every word of his songs on hidden messages.
It actually starts really promising. At the flirt in the parking lot after the concert, Lee Pace (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) as an esoteric bard with Crazy-Nicolas-Cage-Memorial hairstyle is directly involved in the fact that he is “a”Great Pussy Eater” be. But Isabel didn't fall on the nose either. Without twitching with the eyelash, she turns to Elliott, pulls the panties down under the skirt and spreads her legs without a word. Are we actually at a time after “Baby Girl” at a time when – even limits – sex in the cinema is allowed? But Lucio Castro cannot maintain the passionate drive of the equally erotic and dangerous opening. The potentially ominous images are simply not strong enough, the interspersed mysterious symbols remain much too arbitrary.
Where David Robert Mitchell celebrates his pop culture schnitzel hunt through the sunny upper world and the substructure of Los Angeles in “Under the Silver Lake”, which is removed to a hell of Los Angeles, it is exactly the other way around at “After This Death”: those on albumcovers And notes hidden in lyrics remain as vague as the hint on a ever -playing player And never recorded special song of the band. This does not invite you to puzzle, but already loses half of the season. For “Mulholland Drive” there are still active Reddit-Threads 24 years after the theatrical release, where various interpretation options are discussed. We doubt that a comparable thread on “After this Death” will ever be opened.
Conclusion: a lynchesk nested mystery story with a dash of esoteric pop culture schnitzel hunt à la “Under the Silver Lake”, which probably “Mulholland Drive”, despite the great cast around Mia Maestro and Lee “Pussy Eater“Pace cannot begin to reach the water.
We saw “After this Death” as part of the Berlinale in 2025, where it was shown as the Berlinale Special.