How ’90 Minutes in Heaven’ Inspired AFTER DEATH
By Movieguide® Contributor
Don Piper, author of “90 Minutes in Heaven,” shared with Movieguide® how his near-death experience inspired AFTER DEATH.
“It’s been six years since I got the original phone call about this project and so, gradually you know, I got more calls and more involved and then we shot that footage in during COVID, and people were dying left and right, so it just became more urgent as it drifted along,” Piper shared.
“[It] was completed, and then Angel Studios got involved in it, who have a phenomenal track record of promoting and distributing very quality content, and it just happened,” he continued.
“I think it was ordained. I think it was anointed, and I couldn’t be more humbled and proud to be involved in a project like this,” Piper said. “It’s all because I got run over by a truck and killed so that’s pretty phenomenal. So, the story is told again.”
Piper died after being in a car wreck. During the 90 minutes he was dead, he went to heaven and has since shared his story about the experience.
He previously shared, “[The] steering wheel impaled me in the chest and then the car’s roof collapsed on my head so there’s just no way you could survive this accident.”
“I took my last breath here in the car and I took my first breath there at the gates,” he said.
A couple of passersby saw the wreck and prayed over Piper’s body.
ABC News reported, “Piper said he regained consciousness and heard [passerby Dick] Onarecker singing ‘We Have a Friend in Jesus.’ Soon, he joined him in song.”
Piper’s story has impacted and comforted many, including his daughter, who died at the age of 46.
“She heard me talk about heaven extensively, and so she got to ask all the questions she wanted to know. We prayed that she would live here but God chose [to take her],” he told Movieguide®.
AFTER DEATH achieved stunning success at the box office. It was the “highest-grossing documentary to grace the big screen since 2019,” per Angel Studios.
Movieguide® also reported it was the “top grossing faith-based documentary of all time.”
It’s “a testament to Angel Studios’ disruptive track record,” said Brandon Purdie, Angel Studios’ VP and Head of Theatrical. “Once more, we’ve partnered with valued exhibitors to rekindle the passion of audiences who haven’t visited the cinema in years.”
Part of Movieguide®’s review reads:
AFTER DEATH is a documentary exploring the nature of Near Death Experiences. In the movie, scientific experts and researchers discuss the subject. One scientist who conducted a comprehensive study of many NDEs found that people had experiences where they accurately could describe events in operating rooms and other places, even though they were unconscious. Researchers also confirm that the experiences are often very similar. Finally, multiple people tell their stories about experiencing the afterlife, including visiting Heaven and Hell, meeting dead relatives, and even talking to Jesus. The filmmakers use special effects to punctuate their stories.
AFTER DEATH is a fascinating, inspiring look into the nature of thousands of near death experiences. It explores the scientific evidence, the encounters people have had, and how the experiences affected them and their lives afterwards. AFTER DEATH has wonderful special effects that help make it a cinematic experience. Best of all, however, it has a strong Christian worldview promoting hope, love, purpose, meaning, and life. It encourages viewers to stop and consider Eternity. It also tells viewers, “What we say and do really matters.”
Check out Movieguide®’s full interview here:
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