The Afflicted

My dear friend Kayla challenged me with this movie and I accepted. I don't regret watching it, but it truly is a disgusting movie. The things that "Mother" Maggie does are beyond horrific and unimaginable. The children fear her- no...no, it's beyond fear. They're in sheer terror. I'm disgusted with the fact that these kinds of movies intrigue me, but this one was far too much for my psyche. If you can, please try to avoid watching this. The things that are depicted in this film are unbelievably cruel. I was even on the verge of tears at one part. And that was only in one of the beginning scenes. So all in all, I give the movie 2 stars. Sorry but, the acting was the only thing I really liked.

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.

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.

How do none of these GROWN children restrain their trash mother?

Meanwhile, restraint would not have been my choice.

The son is a WHOLE failure.

There is NO character development.

This movie is loosely based on a true story from the 80s, and the real children covered for their trash mother as well. I can only imagine them growing up to be abusive adults.

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.