Remnants (film)
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''Aftermath'' (also known under its working title, ''Remnants'') is a 2014 American apocalyptic
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
directed by Peter Engert. The film stars C. J. Thomason,
Monica Keena Monica Keena (born May 28, 1979) is an American actress. Following her feature film debut in '' While You Were Sleeping'' (1995), she went on to play leading roles in '' Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' (1997), ''Crime and Punishment in Suburbia'' ...
, and
Edward Furlong Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor and former teen idol. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's 1991 science fiction action film '' Terminato ...
as a group of survivors taking shelter in a Texas farmhouse.


Plot

As the film opens, Hunter ( C. J. Thomason) is on a highway where he meets Jennifer and her young brother Satchel. While stopped, they witness several mushroom clouds that destroy nearby "targets." Satchel is blinded by looking directly at a nuclear detonation. The detonations generate an
electromagnetic pulse An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also referred to as a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. The origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic field, as an ...
which disables Jennifer's car. They search for and locate an old diesel vehicle which is not affected by the EMP, and scour nearby stores collecting supplies. They meet and join with Elizabeth (
Monica Keena Monica Keena (born May 28, 1979) is an American actress. Following her feature film debut in '' While You Were Sleeping'' (1995), she went on to play leading roles in '' Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' (1997), ''Crime and Punishment in Suburbia'' ...
) who tells them she saw explosions over other major cities in visual range. Car radio reports state that major cities on both the East and West coasts have been destroyed. Hunter is shot by a frightened child while trying to find shelter in a local home. They leave immediately, unable to help the child. They find another farmhouse nearby, which they initially mistake for unoccupied. As they attempt to gain entry, Hunter's group are interrupted by Brad (
Edward Furlong Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor and former teen idol. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's 1991 science fiction action film '' Terminato ...
) and Jonathan ( Ross Britz). Brad, holding them at gunpoint, tries to drive them away, but is disarmed by Hunter. Jonathan, whose grandparents own the house, agrees to let Hunter and his party join the four survivors already inside: Jonathan, his diabetic uncle Wendell, Brad, and Brad's pregnant wife Angie. Hunter organizes the survivors and instructs them to move all of their supplies into the cellar and attempt to seal it against the radioactive fallout which is coming. He tends to his own gunshot wound, finding a small bottle of antibiotics in a medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Once all of their supplies are stored in the cellar, Hunter and Jonathan barricade the door, sealing themselves inside. Hunter tells the survivors that they will need to remain inside the cellar for at least a month to avoid the fallout's worst effects. Hunter finds a
Geiger counter A Geiger counter (, ; also known as a Geiger–Müller counter or G-M counter) is an electronic instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation with the use of a Geiger–Müller tube. It is widely used in applications such as radiat ...
which reveals that the radiation level is already much higher than expected. Over the next few days, Jonathan retrieves the electronics he previously stored inside a metal safe—a radio and his MP3 player, which have survived the blast. Jonathan focuses on fixing the short-wave radio, and the survivors hear news of destruction in Europe and elsewhere by nuclear bombs. Repairing the microphone allows them to begin speaking with other survivors in bunkers elsewhere in the States. They are joined by Jonathan's friend Rob (
Andre Royo Andre Royo (born July 18, 1968) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins on the HBO crime drama series ''The Wire'', and his appearances on ''Fringe'', '' Party Down'', '' How to Make ...
) a few days later, who is accidentally shot while trying to gain entry to the basement. Having been outside for longer, he has radiation burns and the early signs of radiation poisoning. He survives his gunshot wound and Jonathan, stricken with grief after accidentally shooting his friend, welcomes him into their shelter. Despite their precautions, all of the survivors begin to weaken from radiation exposure. Jonathan's uncle Wendell, already weakened by diabetes, dies first. While burying Wendell, the survivors fend off an attack by desperate survivors weakened by nearly two weeks of exposure to radiation. Angie, weakened by vomiting caused by radiation poisoning, has a miscarriage, hemorrhages, and dies. Brad, watching his wife and baby dying, draws his gun and grabs Satchel, threatening to kill him unless Hunter saves Angie; he is subdued by Jonathan who knocks him out with a shovel, and then has his hands bound. Losing contact with the survivors in the other bunker, and hearing the attack that overwhelms them, the survivors realize that there is no help coming. Hunter notices that the others are slowly slipping away due to the radiation seeping into the basement. Satchel develops pneumonia, and the survivors watch helplessly as he sickens and then dies. Hunter experiences intense guilt, blaming himself for using their limited supply of antibiotics to treat his own wound. Rob, accepting the inevitable, takes Satchel's body outside to bury it. He refuses to take a gun, telling Hunter that the survivors inside will need it more. Brad, coming to terms with his grief, apologizes and is unbound by Hunter. Over the next two days, Elizabeth, Jennifer and Jonathan, beginning to lose their hair, spend most of their time sleeping, weak from radiation poisoning. Hunter and Brad, also losing hair, sit listening to movement from upstairs. Hunter tells Brad to let the others sleep, as they will need their strength to repel the coming attack. They both accept that Rob, now outside for two days, is not coming back. The attack comes, and Hunter, realising they are vulnerable and trapped inside the basement, leads them outside after the initial wave is repelled. Now upstairs, Elizabeth is stabbed by one of the invaders and dies in Hunter's arms. Hunter, overcome with rage at Elizabeth's death, charges outside with Brad and they both attack the man who killed her. During the melee, Brad is killed saving Hunter from the attacker, who dies after being impaled on his own weapon by Hunter. Hunter staggers back to the house finding Jonathan holding a gun on him, before turning the gun on himself. Their basement now contaminated, Hunter and Jennifer stagger upstairs and curl up in a bed to sleep. The film ends several weeks later. Only Hunter and Jennifer remain alive, seriously ill from radiation exposure, drinking contaminated water from a pump in the yard. Nearby is Rob's body, slumped against a tree, having evidently managed to bury Satchel but chosen not to return to the basement before dying of the radiation.


Cast

* C. J. Thomason as Hunter *
Monica Keena Monica Keena (born May 28, 1979) is an American actress. Following her feature film debut in '' While You Were Sleeping'' (1995), she went on to play leading roles in '' Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' (1997), ''Crime and Punishment in Suburbia'' ...
as Elizabeth *
Edward Furlong Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor and former teen idol. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's 1991 science fiction action film '' Terminato ...
as Brad *
Andre Royo Andre Royo (born July 18, 1968) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins on the HBO crime drama series ''The Wire'', and his appearances on ''Fringe'', '' Party Down'', '' How to Make ...
as Rob * Christine Kelly as Angie * Jessie Rusu as Jennifer * Ross Britz as Jonathan * Tody Bernard as Wendell * Kennon Kepper as Satchel *
William Baldwin William Joseph Baldwin (born February 21, 1963) Note: While birthplace is routinely listed as Massapequa, that town has no hospital, and brother Alec Baldwin was born in nearby Amityville, which does. is an American actor and the second-younge ...
as Shane (voice) * Randal Reeder as Cowboy Hat * Bo Mitchell as Cowboy Hat's Son *
Bobbi Sue Luther Bobbi Sue Luther (born August 27, 1978) is an American model, actress, producer and host of TLC's '' Junkyard Mega Wars''. Life and career Luther was born in Annapolis, Maryland. She played an Orion Slave Girl on '' Star Trek: Enterprise'' as ...
as Basement Refugee * Ted Ferguson as Dying Refugee * Alexander B. Williams as Burnt Refugee


Production

Engert was the second director hired to direct ''Aftermath'' and he was brought on to the project four days before principal photography commenced. He stated that he chose to work on ''Aftermath'' due to the film's script, which he felt "focused on the characters a lot more than the situation they're in" and because the script did not require a large special effects budget or an overly large cast. The total production took place over a four-week period.


Reception

''Aftermath'' has received mixed reviews, and holds an approval rating of 47% on the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, based on 17 reviews. Gary Goldstein of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' wrote that "Even if this largely contained movie remains more low key than frantic, it features enough well-executed bursts of tension and strong emotional beats to hold interest." Adrian Halen of HorrorNews.net reviewed the film positively, writing that "Those who enjoy a good action drama will be more than satisfied with this film". Justin Chang of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called the film "a work of zero novelty but often effective atmosphere". Mike Wilson of
Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...
wrote that "''Aftermath'' strives to be different from what you'd normally get with a post-nuclear film. And while the bleakness and pessimistic outlook does change things up, it doesn't deviate from the formula we've all seen before". Jeannette Catsoulis of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' gave the film a mostly negative review, writing that "it's surprising how few of these characters want to kill themselves—no matter how much we're rooting for them to do so".


References


External links

* * * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, m/aftermath_2014/, Aftermath 2014 films 2010s pregnancy films 2010s science fiction thriller films Apocalyptic films American post-apocalyptic films American science fiction thriller films American pregnancy films Films set on farms 2010s English-language films 2010s American films Films set in bunkers Films scored by Austin Wintory English-language science fiction thriller films