The Afflicted

A bad horribly done movie. I can't believe it's even advertised to watch. It's so horrible. The story deserved better writing and better acting. I can believe this kind of garbage is on the air.

It took me about 45 minutes into the movie before I realized that this movie was very loosely based on the life of Theresa Knorr and the horrors she inflicted upon her children. I read the true crime book "Whatever mother says" a few years ago and that was hands down the most awful real life story I have ever read in my life. This movie does not even begin to come close to the book. After watching this horrible effort of a movie, I realized that the unspeakable acts of Theresa Knorr cannot be turned into a good movie. If you want the know the real story, you should read the book. It is completely different, apart from a few of the horrors shown in the movie, but the book is actually a hundred times worse and more painful. Read it to educate yourself in the world of true crime, but be prepared for a disgusting ride into reality.

A story of incomprehensible abuse delivered by an explosively violent mother of four. Journey through the mind of a child that experiences a living hell, defined and defended by the twisted religious beliefs of her mother.

Leslie Easterbrook is a crazy mother, a role she takes to heart, and had it not been in an otherwise disposable movie, she would have been receiving wide praise for her performance here. She is, we see, a consummate professional.

It is nice to see Kane Hodder without a mask (or even gloves to hide the burns) and some decent lines. His acting is never fully appreciated, and this film is a good example of his ability to shine. If only his role was bigger.

Pretty enjoyable movie overall. The story is interesting enough and the cinematography is actually pretty good overall, especially considering the budget. The acting is well above average in this budget range, Kane Hodder makes an interesting appearance in essentially a cameo role, it would of been nice to expand more on the back story and give him more screen time but that might of been a decision made for budget reasons. The Good Overall acting - Leslie Easterbrook was really good when she wasn't way over the top, all in all a real solid performance the type that should bring her a lot more opportunities. J.D. Hart was fantastic, again some of the script called for him to be over the top but he really did a great job. Michele Grey and Sims Holland both did a great job with very challenging rolls, I expect to see more work from them in the future. Cinematography - overall very good, some real nice shots, most of the film is visually interesting. Some of the hand-held was a bit to choppy for my taste, but that's a taste issues more than anything else, overall great job. Story - the story itself is interesting. The Not so Good Nothing that will ruin the movie experience but a couple glaring problems. The Whys - why they didn't take action sooner or attempt to do something will baffle you, you might even find yourself yelling instructions at the TV as I did. More pre-production time ironing out the whys would of gone a long way. More back story - so we care more, are more invested in the characters and have a better idea of what caused everything. Again this may of been a matter of the budget restraints with some of the actors and time to shoot. All in all a good movie, a pleasant Netflix find for me. Might not be something you would watch more than once but definitely worth your time the first time around.

Maggie (A great, if slightly manic performance from Leslie Easterbrook, aka Callahan from Police Academy!) is a god fearing Christian woman, married to Hank (A nicely done cameo from Kane Hodder). When their marriage fails, due to Maggie's uncompromising fire and brimstone style views, Maggie becomes bitter, resentful and beset with financial woes. Taking to the drink, she begins endlessly watching the public access TV show of the Cowboy Preacher (JD Hart), who comes to visit at times. Spare the rod and spoil the child, the family must stick together, is what the cowboy preaches from Maggie's TV.

As the financial difficulties worsen, Maggie begins to fancy she can converse with God, and that her children should pull together, and chip in anyway they can. If that means doing things they normally wouldn't do, then so be it. And if any dissent ensues, well, Maggie is more than willing to dispense her own quite vicious brand of discipline, because spare the rod, and spoil the child, after all...

The Afflicted is a well shot and well acted horror, with good performances all around, from a nice cameo from Hodder to an excellent (if again, slightly ott) performance from Easterbrook.

It's also pretty grim, with a bleak tone, and will probably inevitably draw comparisons with The Girl Next Door. However, my main beef with this was that it requires serious suspension of disbelief, and I'm actually wondering if it really is based on a true story as it claims or if this is just a marketing ploy, the way Wolf Creek was supposedly based on a true story, when in reality it was simply loosely influenced by a number of true life cases.

The kids, who are all between 17 and 18, one of them a guy, have ample opportunity throughout the film (at least by default anyway) to either escape, report or even overpower Easterbrook, yet don't. This detracts from any tension, and makes it hard to take the whole thing seriously. Most if not all of the supporting characters outside the family are stereotypical rednecks, and towards the end, you're just kinda waiting for things to finish.

The Afflicted isn't precisely a bad film, it's more of a flawed one, but overall, I found it neither stand out or substandard. It just failed to leave a lasting impression on me, well made and well acted that it was. 5/10 probably worth a look actually, to make one's own mind up.