Produced by Richard W. King,
Irina Popov, Logan Brown
Screenplay by Andy Mitton
Screen Story and Directed by
Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton
Starring Annette O’Toole, Clark Freeman,
John Glover, Giovanna Zacarías,
Laura Heisler, Jay Dunn
Phobia-ridden Miles (Clark Freeman) is so terrified of dying that he takes out a huge ad offering $30, 000 to anyone who can offer irrefutable proof of the afterlife.
His tough-ass mother (the terrific Annette O’Toole) tries to talk him out of it, but after she realizes the extent of his stubbornness, she insists on helping him on his quest. Her main goal is to protect him from con artists and the like.
Miles receives many submissions and, along with his skeptical mom, whittles them down to three candidates.
We Go On certainly hits the ground running. The film’s co-writers/directors do a nice job of briskly and efficiently outlining our lead characters (with major assists from O’Toole and Freeman), while meting out further character development throughout the running time.
The first half or so is fascinating, with the desperate-to-believe Miles and his atheistic mother shuttling to visit the scientist, the unwilling medium and the worldly entrepreneur who made the cut.
Throughout their journeys, the mother and son have well-written debates amount the meaning of life and possible afterlife.
What could have been annoyingly episodic or scattershot in lesser hands feels fresh and suspenseful here.
The film eventually narrows its focus around the halfway mark and remains interesting and creepy until the end credits roll, but the novelty is gone at this point.
I was very curious and excited about where the film would lead during that first half. Once the shift arrives (no spoilers), a wee bit of disappointment set in. The fine filmmaking and acting continues unabated, but the settling-in of the script is a bit of a letdown.
I honestly don’t know if they could have effectively sustained the vignette structure of the first half of the film – and the film does indeed remain entertaining, involving and creepy – but the philosophical adventure is lessened considerably once the film chooses a straightforward path.
We Go On is certainly worth checking out: it’s a solid, thoughtful, occasionally scary flick. It would have truly special if the film could’ve kept up its unconventional storyline to the bitter end, but the resultant effort is still a cut above most horror fare.
We Go On is available on DVD & Blu-ray
and is streaming exclusively on Shudder.
