With: Michael Sabom, Raymond Moody, Dale Black, Ajmal Zemmar, Mary Neal, Karl Greene, Paul Ojeda, Steve Kang, John Burke, Don Piper, Howard Storm, Jeffrey Long
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Written by: Stephen Gray
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Directed by: Stephen Gray, Chris Radtke
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 thematic material including violent descriptions, some bloody
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Running Time: 108
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Date: 10/27/2023
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Float Specialists
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Despite some confusing editing and some extremely mixed messages, this documentary still offers many fascinating first-hand accounts, and gives us something to ponder, re: life's greatest mystery.
Filmmakers Stephen Gray and Chris Radtke interview several subjects that are familiar with near-death experiences. Some are scientists that have begun documenting these experiences, and some are people who can actually describe the experiences. The most interesting, and measurable, aspect is the sensation of floating above one's body, and the ability to describe vividly everything in the room, even though the person's body is not conscious.
After that, many describe light, feelings of peace and love, heightened senses, music, and even conversations with late relatives or deities. What most of these survivors take back to earth with them varies, but the overall messages is one of hope.
As it goes on, After Death shows its hand as a faith-based movie, especially in a section depicting people's negative experiences with near-death; in several cases, they are rescued from darkness and despair by asking for help from either God or Jesus. And many of the subjects seem to have misinterpreted their message of love, opting instead for trying to convince everyone about the existence of an afterlife. (They're gambling their life in the present on the prospect of a greater future.)
It's also easy to lose track of the various stories as the filmmakers interrupt them by cutting back and forth. However the movie's key is Dr. Michael Sabom, a skeptic and a scientist first, who offers his view on what can actually be seen, studied, and measured. It's too bad that there weren't more alternate views in After Death, just for some balance, but in the end there are many compelling testimonies here, and the documentary offers plenty of food for thought.
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