After Alice (DVD)

In 1999, Kiefer Sutherland made this little-seen supernatural thriller in which he plays a burned out, alcoholic police detective who gets led into a labyrinth of murder and intrigue. In 2008, Sutherland starred as an eerily similar archetype in Alexandre Aja's Mirrors… and yet, one does not reflect the other at all.

It's quite fascinating to see how Sutherland's acting style has been adversely affected by playing Jack Bauer on "24" in the intervening years. (No matter: I enjoy his presence in either guise. But I do hope he surfaces to greatness again in the future.)

In After Alice, Sutherland is gruff, harried, no-nonsense, gun-toting Mick Hayden and there aren't any looking glasses… but there is a "rabbit" called Harvey (a most excellent Henry Czerny, who will be instantly recognizable to the TV generation from his current role on Showtime's "The Tudors") who leads the investigator into a hole of wreck and ruin. After years of inactivity, a serial killer dubbed Jabberwocky resurfaces, and stirs up some psychic waves while bringing on a crimson tide of fatal mayhem.

The death scenes are definitely more along the lines of a suspense-thriller than an outright horror movie, but After Alice is pleasingly reminiscent of 70s flashback freak-outs like The Eyes of Laura Mars, Looker, and The Tenant… though not quite as enjoyable or arty as those movies. Sutherland is a standout, giving a layered and deep performance, especially considering the clichés of the character. The dialogue is good, as are the accoutrements of cinematography, set design, score and costumes.

It would have been nice if director Paul Marcus and screenwriter Jeff Miller had gone a little more crazy with the "Alice in Wonderland" theme. But as a sufficiently suspenseful and workman-like police procedural with just enough kink to keep you awake if you catch in on late night cable, After Alice is well worth a look.

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