Title – Afflicted (2013)

Directors – Derek Lee and Clif Prowse (feature debut)

Cast – Derek Lee, Clif Prowse, Baya Rehaz

Plot – Friends Derek (Lee) and Clif (Prowse) set out on a world trip after Derek finds out he is suffering a potentially life threatening illness. Documenting the trip for the world to see, Clif soon starts to realise that his best friend Derek might be fighting something much worse than they bargained for.

 “Derek, are you OK?”

Review by Eddie on 27/02/2015

No matter the naysayers, it seems as though the found footage genre is well and truly here to stay, from nasty little low budget ventures through to big budget tent poles, the filmmaking style bought to popularity by The Blair Witch Project, revived by Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity and continued largely in the horror pool of movies is here once more utilised in Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s low budget and at times intriguing example of the movie making technique.

A somewhat strange hybrid of action and horror, Afflicted should not be sought out by those looking for a horror kick as the focus here is more so on out and out action set pieces than bone chilling scares and it’s to the films downfall that it doesn’t allow for more scares to be had amongst the well filmed and originally staged carnage. The action scenes directors Lee and Prowse deliver is where the film comes to life most and showcases a talent that can hopefully be utilised to greater effect in their upcoming projects. It’s hard to know whether these creators were a bit afraid to go too far either way with their script, unwilling to go down the well-worn track of a slow burn jump scare type deal or unsure if an out and out action blast would stack up on a limited budget.

Afflicted’s action may be a strong point and equally so is some acting by leads Lee and Prowse, while the story their characters inhabit might lose a little steam and at times be a little disinteresting these actors conduct themselves well and stay clear of the recent trait of found footage actors in becoming overly annoying or daft and even when the guys are doing ridiculous things or making questionable decisions, Derek and Clif are guys we are rooting for and interested in despite our better judgements and its testament to the acting ability they possess to coincide with their directional attributes.

Afflicted has some neat moments, some original ideas and is a nice showpiece for what creators Lee and Prowse are capable of. It might not always succeed at what it attempts and in the end is quite throwaway in its memorability but Afflicted is another watchable entry into the found footage/hand held movie making cannon that shows no signs of being put to rest at the time being.

2 and a half long lasting phone batteries out of 5