The Aftermath was YouTube-released on August 29, 2021, from the stables of TRECOM Worldwide. It was directed by David Kola Okeowo who also directed wonderful stories like Neema (2018) and A Tenant in Hell (2018). The Aftermath boasts a number of industry professionals as crew such as Kayode Babalola as the screenwriter, Ben Ope Johnson as DOP, Kunle Adepoju as the gaffer, Paul Aremu as the makeup artist, Angel Alake as the editor, to name a few. It tells the story of Henry’s and Seyi’s dream marriage that is about to become a nightmare when a shadow of Henry’s hidden past rears its ugly head on their wedding night.
The Aftermath has a high production value as seen in its top picture quality, beautiful scenery, exquisite locations and remarkable set designs and costumes. I hope that for subsequent productions, such value will be placed on the creation of a variety of original soundtracks and background tunes, rather than using the existent generic ones.
This movie contains a lot of wisdom for courting individuals and clarifies understanding about the mess of the past. Henry, played by Timmy Adebola who featured in The Final Contest (2017) and The Bank (2021), engages in a lot of self-deceit that keeps help away from him and also threatens to destroy his marital journey that has barely started. He asks God to forgive him for cheating on his fiancée but he doesn’t confess to her. Some might argue that it wasn’t compulsory for him to do so but the film goes a long way to illustrate biblical truths about the person who covers his sins not prospering and about the sins of one who doesn’t keep his promises finding him out.
Seyi, played by Toyosi Babalola who was Jenny in High Calling (2020), suffers from the aftermath of Henry’s deceit and it’s a heart-wrenching experience of marital calamity for her. She even gets a slap from Chioma, played by Opeyemi Akintunde who has written two amazing series this year, Finding the One and The Bank, and Henry, to my disbelief, does nothing about it. Seyi however demonstrates a high level of spiritual strength by praying through the hurt, rather than languishing in it. Her subsequent confrontation with Chioma is an encouraging and inspiring stance that every child of God needs to adopt towards the discouraging situations in their lives. After all, victory is already assured by our Saviour who loves us.
Nonetheless, a not-so-steady characterization of some individuals in The Aftermath is exemplified by Henry’s altering personalities at different points in the movie. For one, he is long excited that he’d be consummating his marriage, and then, in an instant, he develops cold feet and becomes hesitant – why was his initial excitement portrayed in the first place since he knew he had been impotent for a while (and indeed, probably up until that wedding night)? Also, two comic characters in Bassey and Bella, though funny, alternate personalities in the couple of scenes they feature. Movie characters should be made clearly identifiable, and where any character experiences an arc, there should be a traceable and definite sequence that prompts that. Similarly, less choppy music and scene-to-scene cuts, as well as a better scene ordering would make for a smoother watching experience.
Conclusively, The Aftermath opens our eyes to the truth that the battles of God’s children are not merely against physical opponents, but against the spirit of the world at work in those who refuse to obey God – the unbelieving who fight against the purposes of God. Hence, we are urged to fight for the abundant life that Jesus died to obtain for us.
Click below to watch the movie.
If you’ve seen the movie, please let me know your thoughts on and lessons from it in the comments section below.
Till the next review, stay blessed!
Witness Gospel Movie Reviews 