Wonderful character development!

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I first heard of this on IFC where the director was mentioned in the same breath as Gus Van Want. Really?? This garbage is the most boring film ever made. At first, it was advertised as Van Sant's Elephant, which is one of the best movies I've ever seen. That film was robbed of a best picture Oscar in my opinion. The difference between this film and Elephant is simply direction. Director Campos has created characters we don't care about and puts them in situations so dull and even far fetched if you managed to keep your eyes opened till the very end you've accomplished a lot. Depressing, boring, and manipulative the director here is trying to make you feel like you're watching something of merit in terms of art. How this movie won awards is beyond me. I can only say skip this one because you won't get the running time to watch this garbage back in your life. A complete bore and waste of time.

I was excited to see this film after discovering the director in a group interview he did with other filmmakers. I think reading his interviews before seeing the film helped set the tone for me as well. Overall I think it is a brilliant movie. It screamed Kubrick tones to me throughout, which I enjoyed. It was not overbearing in that aspect, just tasteful shots that were long and clever that hearken all my favorite Kubrick moments. Now for the story, I think once you see the end it feels like a great story. I felt on edge wondering if the main character was developing how I thought he was. Little aspects slip here and there that made me think there would be no pay off, but it felt solid all together. I think this filmmaker should have an interesting career ahead of him. I am excited to see his next feature after reading the premise.

AFTERSCHOOL is certainly not the kind of movie which would appeal to most people, yet this film very aptly portrays "the unease of a troubled state of mind". Slow and deliberate pacing epitomizes the depression and sense of dread of the student body. At first glance, it would appear that these young people have it all; intelligence, money, and social standing, yet with all these positive attributes, their sophisticated environment only highlights and magnifies the emptiness of their lives. High School is usually portrayed as a happy time, yet in this case, nothing could be farther from the truth. A bit of a re-write might have tightened up the storyline, yet overall, AFTERSCHOOL is most definitely worth a look. Gus Van Sant's, ELEPHANT is somewhat similar in that it also tries to convey a sort of 'dreamy malevolence'.

I can certainly see why some people wouldn't like this movie; the pacing is slow to the point that people raised on "Cloverfield" (which I happened to enjoy) and the like will probably be slitting their wrists. But, having attended a school like the one in the movie, I can tell you that the level of realism is startlingly accurate; each character could easily be someone who I knew in high school.If you enjoy restrained directing and acting, this is an absolute must see. It is one of the few movies that almost makes you forget there is a camera involved; it is like your own private lens into the world. I rarely give a movie a perfect score, but this one earned it.