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.

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.

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.

When I first spotted this movie I figured it would be right up my alley. Although i'm picky about horror movies I do enjoy them, and unlike many it seems, I find the "found footage" style of movie-making intriguing. Overall, Afflicted delivers an entertaining experience throughout, but in my opinion has a few specific fall backs.

First of all, while the acting was mostly good throughout, there were certain scenes where I felt things were a bit cheesy. That isn't my favorite descriptive word, but it happened to be the first that came to mind when thinking about it so I think it fits. Considering the filming style and what i'm assuming was a low budget, they do deserve credit for making a believable pseudo-documentary about their journey, but not everything had me swayed into thinking "yeah, this definitely feels unscripted and completely natural". Considering that this is the basic premise of "found footage" style films, to make the viewer feel like they are watching a real person instead of an actor, "Afflicted" falls short in a few areas which detract from the overall viewing experience in my humble opinion.

My second issue centers around the progression of the film. "Afflicted" starts off really strong, pacing the story along perfectly as you watch the characters depart on their journey and document the various places they visit. Things continue well until one of the main characters comes down with the "affliction" aforementioned in the movie title. From there, things tend to be less harmonious. Soon the story quickens, and you are left with parts that don't always seem to connect well. Certain scenes could have been omitted completely in my opinion.

Despite a few missteps, I have to say I quite enjoyed this movie. It's not perfect, but hey, few horror films usually are these days. I give the creators a ton of kudos for making a found footage film that actually doesn't suck, as there have unfortunately been many over the years(and a few good ones as well I might add). I would recommend this film to fans of the horror/mystery genre, or for anyone wanting to watch an entertaining, albeit different, type of movie.

It kept me interested from start to finish, and I give it a solid 6/10.