Dead Space: Aftermath is a 2011 American adult animated psychological science fiction horror film directed by Mike Disa, written by a team including Brandon Auman, and developed by Film Roman and Pumpkin Studios under the supervision of Electronic Arts. It was released direct-to-video on January 25, the same day as the 2011 survival horror video game Dead Space 2, published by Electronic Arts.

The movie serves as a prequel to Dead Space 2. The story follows the interrogation of four survivors from the USG O Bannon, who were sent to the remains of the planet Aegis VII to investigate the fate of its colony, discovering a fragment of an artifact called the Marker which triggers an outbreak of reanimated mutated corpses dubbed Necromorphs .

Film Roman, which had previously collaborated on the production of Dead Space: Downfall, wanted to create a prequel with a narrative based on the Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon, showing the same event from multiple perspectives. To reflect the different narrative timelines, different animation styles were adopted, with Film Roman partnering with multiple South Korean animation studios to head each flashback sequence. Multiple staff members had previously worked on Dante s Inferno: An Animated Epic. Reception of the film was mixed, with many criticizing its niche appeal and animation quality.

Synopsis

Aftermath is set in 2509, shortly after the events of Dead Space, and acts as a prequel to Dead Space 2. During the events of Dead Space, a planet mining colony funded by the Church of Unitology identified a Marker, an object sacred to the Unitologists beliefs, on the planet Aegis VII. The Marker is a human copy of an alien object that has a fatal influence over the Aegis VII colony and the mining ship USG Ishimura, eventually causing an outbreak of reanimated mutated corpses referred to outside the movie as Necromorphs . Aftermath follows the accounts to EarthGov officials of four survivors from the USG O Bannon, which was sent to investigate Aegis VII. After contact is lost with the O Bannon, EarthGov sends another ship to investigate and recovers four survivors; security officer Nicholas Kuttner, engineer Alejandro Borgas, chief science officer Nolan Stross, and chief medical officer Isabella Cho. En route to the EarthGov base at Titan Sprawl, each survivor gives their account, with EarthGov gathering intelligence for their own Marker project.

Kuttner led a team which included the other survivors to stabilise Aegis VII s failing gravity. There they found fragments of the Marker, which were worth a lot of money. However, touching a fragment caused Kuttner to have a psychotic episode and see visions of his deceased daughter, damaging the gravity stabiliser before he was restrained. After giving his account, Kuttner escapes and has another hallucination which leads him into space, where he dies. Borgas s story reveals that the team failed to fix the stabilizer, and abandoned Aegis VII as it disintegrated, bringing back both the Marker shard and salvaged corpses from the Ishimura. Aegis VII s destruction damaged the drive and killed several crew members. While he is unaffected by the Marker, Borgas knows too much and is executed after the interrogation. Stross reveals that he fell under the Marker s influence while studying its effects on corpses and unwittingly unleashed a Necromorph outbreak on the O Bannon. When he went to protect his family, he suffered a hallucination that made him think they were Necromorphs, which caused him to kill them instead. Stross is kept alive so EarthGov can study the Marker s impact on his mind.

Cho s account reveals that she freed Kuttner to help fight off the Necromorphs, and partnering with Stross and Borgas they decided to throw the Marker shard into the ship s drive, hoping to both destroy it and jump-start the ship. By the time they reached the drive room, they were the only surviving crew members. Despite Stross s unhinged attempt to stop her, Cho threw the Marker shard into the ship s drive, causing a shockwave which disintegrated the Necromorphs but left the ship stranded. Now having arrived at the Sprawl, Cho deduces EarthGov s intentions of recreating the Marker. When offered the chance to join them, she refuses, so she is lobotomised and framed as a terrorist responsible for the events on Aegis VII, the Ishimura, and the O Bannon, while Stross is held in an EarthGov asylum alongside series protagonist Isaac Clarke.

Voice actors

Character	Voice actor
Isabella Cho	Gwendoline Yeo
Nickolas Kuttner	Christopher Judge
Alejandro Borges	Ricardo Chavira
Nolan Stross	Curt Cornelius
Lead Interrogator	Peter Woodward

Production

Dead Space: Aftermath forms part of the Dead Space series, described at the time by publisher Electronic Arts as a trans-media franchise . The movie, together with the video game spin-off Dead Space Ignition and multiple pieces of print media, formed part of Electronic Arts s push to expand the narrative and reach of Dead Space. It also specifically formed part of the marketing push for Dead Space 2. Speaking about the contrasting merits of game and film narrative, the game s producer Steve Papoutsis stated that they were able to go in depth on elements that would otherwise be left unexplained. According to Papoutsis, the development team were excited to see the Dead Space series continue to feature in media expansions. The film was co-produced by Starz Media s animation subsidiary Film Roman, who handled Dead Space: Downfall; animation studio Pumpkin Studio; and Electronic Arts, acting as supervisor. The different flashback sections were handled by multiple South Korean studios, providing the desired variety. The studios were Dong Woo Animation, Digiart Productions, FX Gear and JM Animation. Both Dong Woo Animation and JM Animation had worked with Film Roman on the earlier animated feature Dante s Inferno: An Animated Epic.

Director Mike Disa described the goal of Aftermath as creating the most disturbing, terrifying horror movie we can make . The story delivery was directly influenced by the Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon, which delivered its story in a series of conflicting flashbacks. This approach also allowed the team to fulfil their wish of creating each perspective using a different animation style; the present day sections used 3D CGI, while the flashbacks used different 2D animation techniques. The different animation styles allow for a combination of multiple distinct visual styles, but the team also needed to retain some consistency in character appearance. Disa handled this by having each character have key traits, such as outfits or skin and hair colour, which carried over from sequence to sequence. Each section was created using a different style, focusing individually on a ghost story, pure action, psychological horror and a monsterfest . The use of multiple studios also allowed the film s production in a shorter time than if it had all been handled by one studio.

The script was written by a team led by Brandon Auman, who had also scripted Dante s Inferno: An Animated Epic. Auman s specific influences when writing the script ranged across a wide area, including multiple darkly-themed movies such as Alien, Pi and Blade Runner. So as to remain faithful to the series narrative, Auman read both the series bible and the script for Dead Space 2. The narrative allowed the wider conspiracy within the Dead Space universe to be revealed to the audience in detail. Part of the title s promotion focused on the high-profile voice cast brought in on the project. Judge needed to portray the character Kuttner with both physical strength and inner vulnerability, while Chavira provided a lighter contrast with Borgas. Yeo provided a deft touch to Cho s transformation through the narrative into a lead heroine archetype. Cornelius s part was to portray Stross s descent from analytical scientist into lunatic; Cornelius would reprise his role in Dead Space 2. Woodward nailed the portrayal of the Lead Interrogator as a cold and calculating figure from the first day of recording. The music was composed by Christopher Tin; it was his third collaboration with Disa and his second project for Electronic Arts, having previously scored Dante s Inferno: An Animated Epic. Tin was brought on board the project by Disa. Tin was requested to compose music in the style of series composer Jason Graves. The score made use of tone clusters, extended technique, and aleatoric elements.

The film was announced at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con, originally planned for a late 2010 release. Aftermath was released on January 25, 2011, the same date as Dead Space 2. It was released direct-to-video on DVD and Blu-ray by Anchor Bay Entertainment and Manga Entertainment. A double pack containing Aftermath and Downfall released alongside them. It debuted for television on Hulu on October 9 of the same year.

Reception

IGN s Greg Miller was fairly positive about Aftermath, calling it an improvement over Downfall; he praised the storytelling, its expansion of plot threads left hanging in Dead Space 2, contrasting animation styles, and its lack of unnecessary lore exposition. His main complaint was a lack of special features on the disc. Justin Felix of DVDTalk felt there was little fresh that the film offered when compared to Downfall, and disliked the shifting animation styles. He concluded that taken on its own, it seems perfunctory at best . He also faulted the lack of extras.

Alex Lucard, writing for DieHard GameFan, said it was a film only for established fans of the series, and noted a lack of character personality and inconsistent animation quality that would turn away casual viewers. Conrad Zimmerman of Destructoid, commenting on the film in regards to a behind-the-scenes feature describing its goals, found fault with the changes in some character designs despite finding the effect worked overall. Play, as part of an article on Dead Space 3, said the film was less fun than Downfall despite still providing decent brain-off (violent) enjoyment .

Year	2011
ReleaseDate	2011-01-25
RuntimeMins	85
RuntimeStr	1h 25min
Plot	When contact with the spaceship USG Ishimura is lost after a Necromorph outbreak, Earth sends the ship USG O’Bannon to investigate, but contact is lost with them as well.
Directors	Mike Disa
Writers	Brandon Auman, Mike Disa, Chuck Beaver
Stars	Christopher Judge, Ricardo Chavira, Gwendoline Yeo
Produced by	Chuck Beaver,Eeljin Chae,Jay Fukuto,Ellen Goldsmith-Vein,Joe Goyette,Jisun Hong,Chung Hyun,Cho Yong Joo,Erin Eunsung Kim,Ji-Hyun Kim,Mi-Sun Kim,Shin-Wan Kim,Cate Latchford,Joung Mee,Patrick O’Brien,Hyun-ju Oh,Steve Papoutsis,Sook-Young Park,Jon F. Vein,Jim Wyatt,Ga-Ram Yoon
Music by	Christopher Tin
Film Editing by	Steven Fahey
Art Direction by	Moon-Joong Han,Hoe-Young Lee
Production Management	SungYeon Kang,Kyu-Sub Keon,Tom Klein
Art Department	SunMyung Back,Brent M. Bowen,Don Cameron,HaeRyong Cho,Mike Disa,Hyun Kwon Dong,Tae Ho Han,Yu Seoung Hun,Min Geol Jeon,ByungHwa Jung,Kim Ui Jung,Jae-hong Kim,JaeHoon Kim,Ji-young Kim,Jung Eun Kim,Wyatt Lavasseur,Seung-Gyu Lee,Jong-Sik Nam,Jung-Hee Noh,Chan-Young Park,Jeong Ryeol Park,Cha Dong Seok,Rich Wilkie,Haebum Youn,Myoung Ga Young
Sound Department	Roy Braverman,Fil Brown,Marco Bustos,Melissa Ellis,J. Lampinen,Robert Poole II,Robert Daniel Pratt,Patrick Rodman,Robbi Smith
Visual Effects by	Na Young An,Brent M. Bowen,Deok-Gyu Choi,Deok-Kyu Choi,Eunjoo Choi,Kwang Jin Choi,Steven Fahey,Heather Han,Dae Yeong Hong,Tae Hee Huh,Seonmi Hwang,Jong-Seob Jang,Hwan Chul Kang,Jee-Chang Kang,Hyun Su Kim,Hyun Sub Kim,Hyung Woo Kim,Kang-Ohk Kim,Mi-kyung Kim,Sung-Joon Kim,Dong-Phil Ku,Wyatt Lavasseur,Seongha Oh,JaeWook Park,Jee-Won Park,Jeong-Sei Park,Jiho Park,Jung-Joon Park,Kwang-Chan Park,Sehwi Park,Hye-won Seo,Young Hyun Seo,Kun Su Shin,Choul-Ho Sim,Par Mim Sun,Yu-Mi Sung,Jinmin Woo,Jong Yo Woo,Ju-Jee Yang,Soo-Jung Yang,Han Geul Yoo,Han-Geul Yoo,Nam-Suk Yoon,Jong-Soo Yu
Camera and Electrical Department	JaeChul Bae,Kyu-Seok Kim
Animation Department	Joong-Ryoul Ahn,SunMyung Back,JaeChul Bae,Jae-Young Bang,Robert Brousseau,Han Hee Cheol,Han-mo Cho,Young-Hwa Cho,Na Na Gang,Kim Jin Gi,Hang Jung Goon,Sun-Jung Ha,EonDuck Han,Moon-Joong Han,Sang Wook Han,Tae Ho Han,Young-Gil Han,Jang-Han Hee,Kang Seung Ho,Jisun Hong,SoonHo Hong,SooWon Hong,Chu Kyung Hui,Im Jin Hui,Kim Deok Hui,Kim Gwi Hui,Yu Seoung Hun,Im Eun Hwa,Jun-Pil Hwang,Sue Hwang,Hong Ji Hyeon,Park Hyeon,Dean Jackson,Hye Jin Jo,Kim Kyo Joon,Won-Hyuk Joung,Bae Ok Ju,Deo Myung Ju,Choi Ik Jun,ByungHwa Jung,Hoon Jung,Kim Ui Jung,Kim Yu Jung,Lee Seo Jung,Woosuk Jung,Young-sun Jung,Jae-Yeon Kang,SungYeon Kang,Gordon Kent,Bo-kyung Kim,ByungWook Kim,Chan-Hee Kim,Dohoon Kim,Erin Eunsung Kim,Eunsun Kim,Gong Ja Kim,Haw-Ran Kim,Hee-Kyung Kim,Ho Girl Kim,Hwa Roeng Kim,Hyeon Soo Kim,Hyun Kim,Hyung-Hwan Kim,Hyung-il Kim,Jae-hong Kim,JaeHoon Kim,Jeung Kim,Ji-Young Kim,Jin Yong Kim,Jong-soo Kim,Jung Eun Kim,JungHyun Kim,Kyoung Sook Kim,Lyoung Hui Kim,SunJung Kim,Tae-Hyun Kim,Taehwan Kim,Yong-jae Kim,Young Chan Kim,Young-Bum Kim,Yu-Jin Kim,Yu-Ran Kim,Bong-Kyung Koo,Jae-Eui Kwak,BoUn Kwon,Eun Kyung Kwon,Kang Hye Kyung,Kwon Eun Kyung,Bang Won Lee,Dong Joo Lee,Jong-Chan Lee,Joo-hee Lee,Jun Gu Lee,JuneSung Lee,Jung Hun Lee,JungOh Lee,Kyung-jin Lee,Man-Pyo Lee,Rae-Seok Lee,SangGeun Lee,SangWoo Lee,Seung-Gyu Lee,Won-Gu Lee,Youn Ho Lee,Young-Min Lee,Yun-Joo Lee,Hyung-Suk Lim,Ji-Hye Lim,Kyung Hwa Lim,Sun-Min Lim,Woong Lim,Meuo Meuo,Kim Sun Mi,Jung Hye Min,Park Min-Young,Choi Jung Nam,Gug-Heui Nam,Jong-Sik Nam,Ricardo Ortiz,Chan-Young Park,JeongRyeol Park,Kwan-Sik Park,Kyeong Sook Park,MinJoon Park,Sang-wan Park,Soon-Ok Park,Sungho Park,Yong-il Park,Lee Ju Ri,Jae-Ha Ryu,Sung-Soo Ryuk,HyungEun Seo,Jung Seo,Tae-Won Seo,YongHan Seo,Cha Dong Seok,Eun Soon Shin,Sung A. Shin,Han Gyu Sim,In-Sung Song,Kim Kyung Su,Heo Ji Uk,Laurie Wetzler,Young-Ju Won,Kim Ki Woong,Hong Su Yeon,Kim So Yong,In-Sook Yoo,Byung-ok Yoon,Choi Hyo Young,Choi Yu Young,Jung Ha Young,Ko Jin Young,Myoung Ga Young,Bi Yoeng Yuem,Hae Hueb Yug,Jong Ho Yun,YoungSam Kim
Editorial Department	Robert Anich,Larry Field,Young-Min Lee,Jung-Joon Park
Music Department	Jason Graves,Aaron Purvis,Janine Scalise
Additional Crew	Peter Baghdassarian,Marc Barson,Kimberly Bitsui,Amy Blaisdell,Brittani Cherelle Chapman,Bradley Cooper,Christopher Davis,Elaine DeMari,John Dillon,Mike Disa,Daniel Einhorn,Brian Gee,Tae Ho Han,Felicia Harrison,Sangjin Kim,Ivan Lawrence,Seung-Gyu Lee,Samuel Mason,Charles McCaskill,Ronald McNutt,Jong-Sik Nam,David Orona,MinJoon Park,Corina Paz,Rob Renshaw,Eun Soon Shin,Yvette Thomassian,Jesse Torres,Portia Udeh,Myron Watson,Robert Weaver,Stanley Wong,Erin Eunsung Kim
Genres	Animation, Horror, Sci-Fi
Companies	Starz!, Film Roman Productions, Pumpkin Studio
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	Unrated
ImDbRating	5.4
ImDbRatingVotes	4274
Keywords	spin off,based on video game,trapped in space,anime,mature animation