Afflicted

As this weekend was Halloween, my girl and I decided to watch some Horror movies. My lady had never seen  American Werewolf in London, so we started on that. Then we went in search of exciting new horror. Neither of us were optimistic to be honest. The most we hoped for was an amusing monster vs monster movie with some aging teen star trying to keep his rotting career alive. What we found were  Avalanche Sharks,  the indie film You can't kill Stephen King,  and Afflicted. 

Avalanche Sharks was awful. We had hoped for so bad it was fun, but it was nonsensical rubbish. You can't kill Stephen King, was a fun little indie horror film that is a homage to the  horror writer Stephen King.

Afflicted  was a complete surprise, and I enjoyed it so much that I had to blog about it.

Synopsis:

 Derek loves travel, and recently discovered that he has a condition which could debilitate him at any time. Against the wishes of his doctor and family Derek has decided that he doesn't want to waste another minute of his life, So along with his best friend Cliff, Derek starts a year long trip around the world. Cliff is documentary film maker and is going to chronicle their journey.

But just as their trip begins Derek contracts a strange illness which slowly affects his ability to travel Cliff is torn by his friends desire to continue their journey on what could be his last trip ever, or convince him to seek help. As time progresses Derek's condition deteriorates in a disturbing way.

Afflicted  is a indie horror production, but it's creators and stars managed to make a professional and clever little movie for only $300,000. We were completely taken by surprise not only it's quality but by it's well crafted story. The main two characters are also the writers and directors, and this is their first feature length film.  I was a little concerned by the documentary element of the film, but it is cleverly done and much superior to similar films like The Blair Witch Project. 

Afflicted  is the best new horror I have seen in ages. Yes it was made on a tiny budget by a couple of guys, but the quality of the this production and the enthusiasm behind it made it exceptionally enjoyable. Also the little epilogue at the end of the film  was fun and unexpected.

Like horror and want something new and fun, I recommend Afflicted.

7 monkeys