87
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Though heartbreaking to watch, if not triggering, Aftershock remains essential viewing as it reveals another, underseen front in the unending battle for equality in the United States.
- 91IndieWireSusannah GruderIndieWireSusannah GruderAftershock is a powerful project inspired by loss, one that aims to move us closer to a world where all women, and especially Black women, are listened to and given the birthing experiences they deserve, so that we can one day begin to see an end to the abysmal statistics on maternal mortality in the United States.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeIt’s a clear-eyed, but by no means exhaustive, documentary that investigates this underreported crisis without losing sight of the people processing the depths of their loss.
- 90VarietyLisa KennedyVarietyLisa KennedyThe tried and true way to break viewers’ hearts is to make them care deeply. Aftershock wastes no time in doing just that.
- 85Paste MagazineNatalia KeoganPaste MagazineNatalia KeoganIn exposing the horrifying reality of giving birth while Black—and providing tangible alternatives for increasingly dangerous hospital births—Aftershock might very well save lives. Most importantly, the film immortalizes two mothers whose deaths never should have occurred, giving space for the innumerable victims of this crisis to similarly take action and memorialize those they’ve lost to senseless medical racism.
- 80The New York TimesBeandrea JulyThe New York TimesBeandrea JulyAftershock is a moving ode to Black families in a society where too many forces work to tear them apart.
- 80Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayLos Angeles TimesNoel MurrayEiselt and Lee cover how these families — and in particular the fathers left behind by their partners’ passing — are still coping with unexpected loss. The film also provides some history lessons on how Black women have been either exploited or ignored by the medical establishment.