Afflicted

Almost 15 years since "The Blair Witch Project" pretended to document an ill-fated journey into the woods, its impact is felt more deeply than ever. The found footage horror genre technically pre-dated the digital filmmaking boom by nearly two decades (with 1980's "Cannibal Holocaust") but the age of user-generated footage, when everyone with a smartphone has one trigger finger ready to hit record, has made the device too ubiquitous for its own good.

The two actors performances are credible enough to legitimize the terror, only stumbling when they glare directly into the camera and profess their fears (a "Blair Witch" cliché that has run its course, the confessional moment is the worst example of overstatement). Derek's ensuing plight across the continent, in which he scales buildings and nimbly evades various countries' police forces, suggests "Cloverfield" by way of "American Werewolf in London," but lacks the same wry, self-deprecating humor of the John Landis classic. Instead, directors Proswe and Lee established a macabre scenario and then uses it as an excuse to run wild with the production values, piling up a series of impressive chase scenes and showdowns involving characters with the powers to scale buildings and hurl bodies across the room. It's a superficial delight to watch "Afflicted" gradually ramp up its effects work, and while the scares don't sink too deep, the movie offers surefire confirmation of found footage horror's latest stage.

We picked this movie to watch last night expecting to laugh at the usual hand held cam nonsense but wow what a surprise. Excellent acting and a truly ingenious script and premise for a movie, it was very good. You guy in to the characters from the start with one being afflicted by a life threatening illness and the other going with his friend around the world to ensure he is safe. Well their trip to Paris blows that out of the window as Derek goes off with the French girl Audrey. They let him have the hotel room to his self and try to prank him the next morning by rushing in to the room. They find a dazed, battered, bruised and bloodied Derek who has no recollection of the previous night. Derek and Cliff move on to Italy and that's when it starts going crazy. Funny, scary, unsettling and ultimately compelling it was a cool movie.

I enjoy a good flick, and am particularly pleased when it is a low-budget passion project. The Afflicted meets those marks. While the film has some elements that have been done before, such as bad things happening while traveling abroad and the "found footage" angle, Lee and Prowse did a good job adding new elements and keeping it somewhat fresh. Compared to many low (and high) budget horror films, the actors did a fine job and the special effects/stunts were actually believable. I also enjoyed the mystery element to the story that keeps you wondering throughout, but I think I would've preferred a little more explanation as to what happened at the beginning of the film.

All-in-all, a good, simple story that kept me engaged throughout. I look forward to seeing more from these guys.

I saw the trailer for this movie and I was excited because I really love the found footage sub-genre. I was also a little hesitant to watch it because I heard some mixed reviews. I rented this at a Redbox and I was not disappointed. It was way creepier than I expected and the acting was much better than expected as well. It also had a TOTALLY different plot than what I had expected, but it was awesome so it's all good. :) Definitely check this out if you love found footage films or even horror film fans unfamiliar with the sub-genre will love it. This movie is pretty gory but no nudity just a few sexual references. There is some language but nothing too brutal. I'd say appropriate for ages 14+.

Let's face it... 'found footage' films have been pretty terrible of late. Yes, historically, there have been a few good ones. However, with so many wannabe film-makers trying their hand at the (cheap) genre, there are an awful lot of 'duds' out there in the 'straight-to-dvd' market.

I'll say right away that 'Afflicted' isn't anything THAT good. It's hardly revolutionary and most of it you'll feel like you've seen a hundred times before (I'm assuming you're familiar with the 'found footage' genre). The first third is all about introducing us to the characters. Basically, a – possibly – terminally-ill man decides to go on a trip around Europe and therefore his mate has to film every last second of it to put up on the internet.

Unfortunately, our heroes who like talking into the camera fall foul of a local when one gets bitten by... you'll see. Anyway, bad – supernatural – things start to happen. Expect plenty of the usual found footage stuff – running, screaming into camera, falling over, shaky camera-work and yet more screaming.

However, there are a few 'set pieces' which actually left me wondering how they do that. Well... probably with the help of computer–generated technology, but, just because I know how they did it, doesn't mean I wasn't impressed with the results.

There's just enough here to warrant a watch if you're (a) not totally bored of found footage films and (b) generally don't mind horror films in general. But, don't be fooled, it's hardly anything special. Much of it you can sort of have on in the background while you idly surf the internet and you'd still 'get' what's going on. Just be sure to be watching when the really cool stuff comes on.