Afterschool
A desensitized prep-school student records a fatal overdose and watches an emotionally numb community absorb the tragedy without meaningful change.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- bleak
- clinical
- unsettling
- serious film night
- independent cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded Antonio Campos's debut as intelligent and ambitious, with strong performances and substantial thematic ideas despite its demanding emotional distance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The school community's response to the twins' deaths is presented with detached, affectively muted scrutiny.
Robert's frequent exposure to internet imagery contributes to his desensitized view of the overdose and its aftermath.
Robert's video camera captures the final moments of the dying twins, making his act of recording central to the story's ethical tension.
The prep school barely changes after the deaths, emphasizing the community's detachment and social insulation.
Films like Afterschool, and why
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
institutional alienation, emotionally detached adolescence, and unsettling prep-school drama
Thirteen
disturbed teenage subjectivity, suburban disconnection, and bleak coming-of-age themes
Elephant
stylized adolescent alienation, moral numbness, and provocative independent drama
Paranoid Park
cold observational style, youth isolation, and critique of emotionally disconnected institutions
Movie Details
- Director
- Antonio Campos
- Release Date
- 2009-02-10
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rating
- 5.5 / 10 (111)
Cast
- Ezra Miller
- Jeremy Allen White
- Emory Cohen
- Michael Stuhlbarg
- Rosemarie DeWitt
- Addison Timlin
- David Costabile
- Dariusz M. Uczkowski
- Gary Wilmes
- Lee Wilkof
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Afterschool about?
- A desensitized prep-school student records a fatal overdose and watches an emotionally numb community absorb the tragedy without meaningful change.
- What is Afterschool like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Afterschool as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Afterschool violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Afterschool as mild.
- What did critics think of Afterschool?
- Critics broadly regarded Antonio Campos's debut as intelligent and ambitious, with strong performances and substantial thematic ideas despite its demanding emotional distance.
- Which films are like Afterschool?
- Films with a similar feel include The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Thirteen, Elephant, and Paranoid Park.
- How long is Afterschool?
- Afterschool runs 107 minutes.
- Where can I watch Afterschool?
- In United States, Afterschool streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now.
