AFTERWORLD / LONG READS
Reviews & Essays
For ideas that need more than a verdict. Our writing begins with close watching and grows through research, context, interviews and time spent beyond the screen.
WHY THIS WRITING MATTERS
01
Close watching
We return to scenes, performances and small choices that change the way a film feels.
02
Research & context
We follow the ideas, histories and craft that make the screen richer.
03
Beyond the screen
Interviews, visits and field notes bring other voices and real places into the story.
SELECTED WRITING
Film reviews, analysis and essays from the Afterworld archive.
-
Spirited Away at 25: Still Making the Impossible Feel Like Home
Twenty-five years after its release, Spirited Away is back in U.S. theaters for its anniversary, joined by filmed performances of the Japanese stage adaptation. Mari Natsuki, the original voice of Yubaba and Zeniba, returns as the bathhouse’s formidable…
-
Verity (2026): Is It Really THAT Bad? | Spoiler-Free Review
Is Verity (2026) really as bad as the critics say? Or is there something more interesting hiding beneath the surface of this widely criticized psychological thriller?In this spoiler-free review, we’re taking a closer look at Michael Showalter’s adaptation…
-
What Toy Story Can Teach Us About AI Relationships
What Toy Story Can Teach Us About AI Relationships? What if Woody is actually the perfect AI? In this Toy Story analysis, we explore one of Pixar’s strangest ideas through the lens of artificial intelligence and AI alignment:…
-
Film-Essay on The Banshees of Inisherin.
What survives a friendship?In Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, one man suddenly tells his best friend that he simply doesn’t like him anymore. That almost absurdly simple premise unfolds into a powerful story about friendship, violence, loneliness,…
-
Is Inception Christopher Nolan’s True Odyssey?
Christopher Nolan may have been retelling The Odyssey throughout his career: Nolan on the name Ariadne: In this video essay, we revisit Christopher Nolan’s Inception through the lens of Homer’s Odyssey. We explore the surprising connections between Cobb…