I first saw this film in 1985, I didn't understand quite where it was coming from although I enjoyed the mood (the darkness) of the film. I thought I would give it another go so I watched the video last week. At first I was no clearer, "what was that all about" however it is one of those films that gets you thinking and so now I have come to the following conclusion. Yes Jan did exist (not imagined or an entity), yes Peter did have something to do with his death and yes all 3 of them had the same schizophrenic gene. They were all quite mad. If Laurence is still out there I wouldn't trust him, especially if he's hearing those piano rifts in his head. I spoke to Julian Sands about this film and asked him what it was all about. Quote "Do you stand before the King - Haven't a clue but what a great time Jan and I had in Zurich"!

Not the greatest film I have ever seen but still I found it pretty decent and, in a way, similar to The Shout, which also starred John Hurt. The film moves along quite slowly, but when something happens it really happens. Obviously a low budget film but the acting is generally OK. I bought this DVD because Julian Sands is in it and I thought he pulled off a good performance, as did the legendary John Hurt. Although I thought this film was good I didn't really understand it. It can be quite confusing and I am yet to watch it again so once I watch it again and see if I understand it I'll update my comment here. Current opinion though, decent low budget horror film with a pair of good leading actors.

After the third attempt of suicide of Laurence (Julian Sands), his older brother Peter (John Hurt) decides to take him out of the mental institution and take care of him. Peter rents an old apartment in an empty building and leaves his wife and daughter to take care of his brother. Laurence is an insecure man that is haunted by the death of his twin brother Jan that drowned in soft sand on the beach. Peter controls and studies Laurence but when the filmmaker Pascale (Victoria Abril) meets Laurence, he seems to improve his mental condition affecting Peter. "After Darkness" is a weird and gloomy film with a story of madness. The dark cinematography keeps an eerie atmosphere along the story. However the plot is confused with open end and the sentence "Do I stand before the king?" does not seem to have any special meaning. The performances of John Hurt and Julian Sands are the best to see in this low-budget film. My vote is three. Title (Brazil): "Depois da Escuridão" ("After Darkness")