Afterlife Movies

2000 to Present

	Hereafter (2010) PG-13 Clint Eastwood directs this supernatural thriller about three very different people and their responses to death, including a hesitant American psychic named George (Matt Damon) who may be able to help the others find answers and peace. Marie (Cécile De France) is a French journalist caught up in the aftereffects of the devastating 2004 tsunami, while in London, young Marcus (Frankie and George McLaren) seeks to contact his deceased twin brother
	Charlie St. Cloud (2010) PG-13 Ben Sherwood's intriguing novel is the basis of this ghost story about Charlie (Zac Efron), who is devoted to his brother, Sam, even after Sam's death. As the caretaker of the cemetery where Sam is buried, Charlie has lots of time to commune with the dead. Sam visits frequently to hang out with Charlie, but when Charlie meets a mysterious young woman (Amanda Crew), he must decide whether to move forward or remain trapped in the past.
	Ghost Town (2008) PG-13 British funnyman Ricky Gervais ("The Office," "Extras") stars in his first feature film lead as Bertram Pincus, a hapless gent who's pronounced dead, only to be brought back to life with an unexpected gift: a newfound ability to see ghosts. When Bertram crosses paths with the recently departed Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), he gets pulled into Frank's desperate bid to break up his widowed wife's (Téa Leoni) pending marriage to another man.
	The Lovely Bones (2009) PG-13 When 14-year-old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is murdered, she watches from above as her family deals with her tragic death -- and as her killer prepares to strike again. Torn between vengeance and healing, Susie's loved ones are forever changed. Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz star in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Alice Sebold's riveting, best-selling novel; Susan Sarandon and Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci co-star.
	Enter the Void (2009) NR When Oscar (Nathaniel Brown), a foreign drug dealer living in Tokyo with his stripper sister, Linda (Paz de la Huerta), is fatally shot in a police raid, his spirit leaves his body in a hallucinatory odyssey that merges his past, present and future into a chaotic whole. This riveting third film from provocative French auteur Gaspar Noe screened in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Cyril Roy co-stars.
	The Invisible (2007) PG-13 After high schooler Nick is brutally attacked and left for dead, he regains consciousness and then discovers that he's invisible to everyone -- except for a troubled young girl running from the authorities.
	Stay (2005) R This racy thriller from director Marc Forster bends reality about five different ways when a psychologist's (Ewan McGregor) suicidal client (Ryan Gosling) starts making bizarre predictions that, to everyone's mounting consternation, begin to come true. Now, the shrink must race against the clock to save everything he loves before it disappears forever. Naomi Watts, Bob Hoskins and Janeane Garofalo co-star.
	Five People you Meet in Heaven (2004) NR Based on best-selling author Mitch Albom's book, this moving TV drama centers on Eddie (Steven Grayhm and Jon Voight), who dies at the age of 83, uncertain that he was able to save a girl from a horrible accident and doubting that his life had any significance. In heaven, Eddie meets five souls who, through flashbacks, show him how he affected the lives of others in amazing ways. Ellen Burstyn, Jeff Daniels and Michael Imperioli also star.
	The Dust Factory (2004) PG A teenager (Ryan Kelley) who's been mute since witnessing his father's tragic death falls from a bridge into the titular fantasy world, where he meets his mysterious grandfather (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and a beautiful, mercurial girl (Hayden Panettiere). There, the boy must confront his fears of mortality. A wonderful contemplation on death, loss and grief, this touching film posits that, despite the unavoidable pain, life is worth living.
	The "I" Inside (2003) R A serious accident lands Simon (Ryan Phillippe) in a hospital bed with no recollection of what put him there. His memory of the past two years is wiped out, even though some epic events have occurred during that span. His brother Peter (Robert Sean Leonard) was killed, and Simon's now married to Anna (Piper Perabo), whom he doesn't remember ever meeting. He also has bizarre dreams about a woman (Sarah Polley) he loved before his accident.
	My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2003) NR When her wealthy husband dies on their honeymoon, May (Sammi Cheng) inherits his fortune. Far from being a grieving widow, she spends her days watching television, without a care in the world -- until a car accident nearly kills her. Just as May's about to meet her maker, a ghost named Ken (Ching Wan Lau) pushes her back from the brink of death. And after an operation, May discovers that she can see ghosts with her left eye.
	Dragonfly (2002) PG-13 After his wife is killed while performing relief work in Central America, a doctor's patients begin delivering messages from her from the afterlife. On a quest to determine what his lost soul mate wants, the doctor is forced to accept the impossible.
	The Cuckoo (2001) PG-13 A few days before Finland pulls out of World War II, Veiko, a Finnish sniper, is denounced by his comrades for a being a pacifist and a reluctant fighter. As punishment, the young man is shackled to a rock and forced to wear a German uniform. Knowing full well that Russian soldiers have orders to shoot Germans on sight, Veiko escapes and forms an unlikely bond with a woman farmer (and other refugees) who's just trying to stay alive.
	Donnie Darko (2001) R Writer-director Richard Kelly's trippy, mind-bending feature debut stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled Midwestern teenager plagued by incessant sleepwalking, family drama and visions of a menacing 6-foot-tall, doomsday-prophesying rabbit. Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle also star in this dark and intriguing psychological fantasy that swiftly earned a cult following.

2000's 1990's

Hollywood

Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating — or indoctrinating — citizens. The visual elements of cinema gives motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue.

Film

Thanatological themes have traditionally been, and continue to be, an extremely popular element of the cinematic enterprise. For instance, death and dying feature prominently in westerns and war movies. There have also been many successful film dramas about dying, including Love Story, Dying Young, Stepmom, My Life, and Sweet November. Death has even been the topic of comedies, such as Weekend at Bernie’s and Night Shift.

As Kearl (1995) notes, beginning in the 1970s, a popular motif “involved attacks on humanity by the natural order—frogs, bees, sharks, meteors, earthquakes, and tidal waves”. A vast array of movies have featured “disastrous life-threatening phenomena such as diseases (e.g., AIDS, Ebola-like virus), massive accidents (e.g., airplane crashes, nuclear plant accidents) and natural disasters”. Ghost movies (e.g., Truly, Madly, Deeply and Ghost) as well as thrillers such as Flatliners have used the near-death experience as a narrative focus (Walter et al. 1995)."