donderdag 31 juli 2014

Afflicted (2013)

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Genre : Horror
Country : Canada/USA

Cast :
Derek Lee : Derek
Clif Prowse : Clif
Baya Rehaz : Audrey

Director : Derek Lee,Clif Prowse
Alternative title : Ends of the Earth

Summary
Best friends Derek and Clif set out on a trip of lifetime. Their plan: travel to the ends of the earth, see the world, and live life to the fullest. But the trip soon takes a dark and bloody turn. Just days in, one of the men shows signs of a mysterious affliction which gradually takes over his entire body and being. Now, thousands of miles from home, in a foreign land, they must race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely. Footage meant to be travel memories may now become evidence of one of the most shocking discoveries ever captured on film...and perhaps will be their only postcard home.

My opinion

“This is not a disease!
There is no cure!
You have to kill to survive!”

The moment "Afflicted" began, I sighed and thought to myself : "Please not again such a terrible found footage movie ..." Usually they look like a documentary with dreadful amateurish movieclips. It always seems as if it is filmed by some grandmother who forgot that she has to push the red button again so it will stop recording. Afterwards when viewing the film, it's a series of mundane and monotonous blurry images which sway around all the time. Not exactly something you can charm me with.

Of course there are exceptions in this genre. The mother of all found footage films "Cannibal Holocaust" received a cult status. It was (I think) a movie that used this new element for the first time. David Carter's quote is actually the explanation of the principle: "The viewer feels as if they are there with the crew, experiencing the horrors with them". "The Blair Witch Project" led to the revival of this genre and became infamous (although that status was achieved because of the hype at that time about whether or not the images were authentic). "Cloverfield" and seemingly "Chronicle" are also memorable films. But unfortunately there are also terrible creations that only loyal supporters enchant like "The Dinosaur Project","The tapes","SX tapes","A night in the Woods "and "Evidence". It's a genre that I'm really not that fond about.

"The Afflicted" turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise for me. First the visuals weren't so bad and I didn't need to run for a pill of "Touristil" to counteract the upcoming seasickness. This is partly because Clif is a documentary filmmaker and uses a sophisticated film equipment. This looks all professional and that makes that the filming is of an exceptional quality. So no garden-and-kitchen camcorder was used, mostly resulting in terribly blurry and shaking images. And "First person shooter" fans know the camera position used. So if you regularly do a bit of fragging in "Call of Duty", "Halo" or "Far Cry", then you'll appreciate this footage.

In addition, a time-honored horror legend revived again in a fresh and sometimes humorous way. The first 30 minutes are not really exciting. And you can't speak of very spectacular acting. It's just a travelogue made by Derek (Derek Lee) and Clif (Clif Prowse), after they left on a world trip. Atmospheric images and beautiful panoramic views were edited in a rather wonderful way. Especially the images of "Cinque Terre" and "La Spezia" looked as if they came straight out of a promotional video of a travel agency. It's waiting for the beginning of the suspense. That's the thing you are waiting for eventually. And when you're a seasoned horror fan, then it must be something very special before it provides some excitement. Well the moment Derek starts getting the symptoms that indicates that something is not right, it became fascinating. A unique approach to the phenomenon Derek is suffering from. It's done in a humorous way (experimenting with his sudden powers and especially looking for the right way to satisfy his hunger was sublime) and sometimes in a scary way (the transformation, the pulsating veins all over his body, the threatening animal sounds and the way of moving). I realized that it wouldn't be a typical horror movie involving some paranormal activity, a gang of zombies, a pandemic caused by a virus or an old-fashioned ghost story. I think it's a creditable performance by the makers, to achieve this movie with the limited resources they had.

Conclusion: The beginning felt rather forced, but when Derek's mutations manifest (and I anxiously try not to give any spoilers away), a raw and frenzy story starts. Personally, I think it's a film that brings both the found-footage genre as the most ancient horror subject ever, to a higher level. The brilliant camera technique ensures that this low-budget horror looked outstanding. A driven, bloodthirsty and creepy horror in which seemingly a new superhero was created. It started as something funny and as a joke to splice a rock with bare fists, but soon it degenerated into a nightmare. For fans of the genre this is a "must see" and it is definitely a successful experiment in the "low-budget" section.