Directed by: Derek Lee & Clif Prowse.
Written by: Derek Lee & Clif Prowse.
Starring: Derek Lee (Derek), Clif Prowse (Clif), Baya Rehaz (Audrey).
The
best thing I can say about Derek Lee & Clif Prowse’s Afflicted is that I
really want to see what these two do next. Their feature debut takes two tired
genres – the vampire genre and the found footage genre – and combines them
together. It doesn’t really do anything new or different with either one but
what they do on a limited budget here really is quite impressive. I kept hoping
that Afflicted would go off into some new and exciting direction, and it never really
did. As low budget horror movies go, this one is good – I just wish it was more
original. Lee and Prowse have talent (more behind the camera than in front of
it) – and hopefully in their next film, they’ll get more a chance to show it.
The
film stars Lee and Prowse as, well, Lee and Prowse – two guys who have been
friends since high school. Derek Lee has recently been diagnosed with a brain
condition that could kill him at any time or he could live for years with – he
really doesn’t know which. After spending years tied down to an office job, he
decides he wants to let loose and travel the world. His documentary filmmaker
buddy Clif Prowse decides that going with him, and documenting it all for a
website, would be a great project. Things go wrong almost immediately however,
when Derek goes back to his hotel room with the beautiful Audrey (Baya Rehaz) –
and when Clif finds him, he’s covered in blood. He wakes up not knowing what
happened to him but over the next few days seems to have become stronger – and
can do things he shouldn’t be able to do. One thing though – he can’t eat
anymore, and likes to sleep all day. You see where this is going.
The
found footage genre is pretty much worn itself out by now – unless you find a
truly inventive way to utilize it, then it’s starting to get on my nerves. More
than most in the genre, the action in Afflicted strains credibility – because
why on earth are they filming everything they are filming? And why are they
still uploading it to the internet? It just makes no sense. Yet if you expect
that (a stretch, I know), there is still some great stuff here – including a
climatic fight sequence which is one of the best of its kind in the genre.
Throughout, while Lee and Prowse don’t really do anything groundbreaking with the
genre, they do it better than most. The film is not that unlike the most recent
Paranormal Activity movie – The Marked Ones – although it’s done far better,
and has less racial stereotyping (Lee is the main character, and he’s
Asian-Canadian, and this fact refreshingly goes completely unmentioned through
the entire movie).
Afflicted
does what it does very well. I do wish that it was a more original movie – that
it gave me something to admire other than the fact that Lee and Prowse
obviously have talent. It isn’t great movie – or even all that good if I’m
being honest, but it is an excellent “calling card” movie. It’s one of those
films like Gareth Edwards’ Monsters that is okay by itself, but shows immense
potential for the future. I may not think Afflicted is a great or even a very
good movie – but I cannot wait to see what these two filmmakers do next.
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